


A Curse upon your Name

by IndigoDream



Series: The Mummy [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (sorta) - Freeform, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ancient Egypt, F/F, F/M, Jace is a bad guy (sorta), Lesbian Clary Fray, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Mummy AU, adventurer Magnus, elements of horor, librarian/archeologist Alec, some light torture, the lightwoods and clary are siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2020-10-12 23:01:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 43,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20572370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoDream/pseuds/IndigoDream
Summary: Alec is a librarian at the prestigious Museum of History and Archeology in Cairo, although his dream is to be an archeologist. When his sisters bring him an ancient artifact that could lead to Hamunaptra, the famous city of the dead, Alec sees his chance. They find Magnus Bane, a handsome explorer with whom Alec feels an instant connection, and sets forth to the city.None of them knows that every legend about the city is true and that the mummy of Lilith is just waiting for someone to wake her up so that she can bring her son back to life, but they'll soon discover it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Welcome to this story, which is an AU of The Mummy, the one made in 1999. I have seen this movie absolutely too many times in the last two months, and I still love it as much oops.  
It will have some variant from the movie, of course, but I tried to remain loyal to the original plot! 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy the story! Don't hesitate to comment, it always makes my day :)

_Thebes, 2334 B.C._

Cladded in a golden dress that encase her body in an endless sheen of light, Lilith paces throughout the hall. She is waiting for her son, but he is late. Around her, her servants get agitated as well. They exchange furtive glances in between two of her strides. They are all afraid of the Queen; her powers are known throughout the land, and her beauty is only equaled by her cruelty and her love for her son, the Morning Star of Egypt. 

When said son walks in, it is clear to any who is not blinded by the Queen that he is not the Pharaoh’s son. His skin is too pale, his eyes too blue, his body too fragile. Everyone, from the lowest peasant to the Pharaoh’s guards, have heard the rumors; the Morning Star is the son of one of the Northern Strangers that stay in Thebes every few years or so. He looks little like his mother. Maybe she can be seen in the grace of his movements as he glides through the hall, running into Queen Lilith’s arms, or maybe in the way he speaks, soft and melodious but biting like a snake. 

The mother and son embrace each other, her covered in gold and him in silver, as beautiful as the Queen and the Crown Heir of the Kingdom of Egypt are expected to be. Their beauty only inspires fear in the heart of their people, but they thrive on it. 

“He knows, Mother,” the Morning Star cries out, his voice shaking. He is a man, but to his mother, he will always be the boy who came crying into her chambers when his siblings were too rough. 

“Don’t be afraid, my son,” she soothes him with a hand on his cheek, kissing his brow lightly. “Pharaoh can not do anything to undo a mother’s love for her son. And you are my son, Jonathan, not his. You are the Morning Star, the Prince who will bring Egypt into a new glory.” 

He nods, quivering and listening to her words. He steels himself and takes his mother’s hands, squeezing them tightly. 

“I’ll protect you, Mother.”

She smiles proudly and places a soothing hand on his cheek. 

The doors, large and decorated with beautiful sigils and hieroglyphs, thuds loudly as the Pharaoh makes his furor known. Lilith’s servants gain them just enough time that Jonathan can disappear behind a large column, but soon after the Pharaoh bursts in. Unlike his son, he has the dark skin of his people and the strength that befits a ruler. He is nowhere as beautiful as his wife and son, but he had blinded himself to this for many years, unwilling to believe that his oldest son, the pride and joy of his days, was not his. 

“Lilith,” He roars, and the servants cower at the sound of his voice in the golden halls. “You betrayed me.” 

His statement is nowhere calm, but Lilith does not appear disturbed by it. She merely blinks, faking confusion with an intensity that would fool most men.

“My love,” she whispers as he reaches her, “whatever do you mean? I have been nothing but faithful to you in our long years together. Haven’t I proven myself over and over?” 

He pushes away her hands as they reach for his face. “You have proven yourself to be nothing but a liar, Lilith! For that, you shall be executed. Guards!”

His shout is interrupted by the characteristic soft sound that accompanies the slide of a sword from its sheath. He looks down to see his own sword disappear from his waist. 

With a savage yell, the Morning Star plunges the sword in the Pharaoh’s stomach. His mother pulls a dagger from her own belt and she stabs her husband with the same unbridled rage as her son. 

Pharaoh’s body falls to the ground with a loud and wet sound, but mother and son are unperturbed. Jonathan grabs his mother’s dagger and throws it to the ground. 

“Run, Mother,” he orders as the doors thunder under the guards’ assault. 

She protests, but her servants are dragging her out already. They fear her as much as they adore her. Her powers fascinate them, and they know that the Morning Star is a small price to pay for the Queen of Egypt. 

Lilith tries to protest as she is dragged away, but she goes unheard amidst the chaos. The soldiers surround her son, and he attacks them. Everyone has always underestimated his strength, and she is proud to see him strike a few men down before a spear pierces his abdomen. Her shout of pain echoes his, and she lets herself be taken away. 

She cannot live without her son. Without him, there is no star in the sky, no joy in the world, nothing that can give her an ounce of pleasure. She decides then; she will bring him back. It is a forbidden magic, but for him she would brave all the gods at once and emerge successful. No powers can hope to match the wrath of a mother whose child has been taken from her. 

She steals her son’s body with the help of her servants and cradles him in her arms to the city of the dead. Hamunaptra glistens in the moonlight, a polar opposite of Thebes’ shining sunbathed glory. Lilith has little care for the decor, but it will be a fitting stage to bring back her son from Osiris’ grasp. After this, nothing will ever separate them again. They’ll be together for all eternity, bringing Egypt, and the world, under their control and reigning together. The moon is high in the sky when the ceremony begins. 

The Morning Star, Jonathan, lays paler than ever on the cold stone of the altar, blood still tainting his beautiful face. The cold rays of the stars filtering through the room amidst the powerful shine of the lanterns make him seem more alive and Lilith holds onto that belief. She will have her revenge, but most importantly, she will have her son back. 

She recites the ancient words, embedding them with her own powers as she feels her son coming back, the god of the dead clawing to keep him. She’s stronger though, and when his eyes opens, she almost shouts in joy, but she can’t be distracted now. She needs to finish the ritual. 

Soldiers swarms the room, stabbing and killing her servants, and her son’s soul goes back to the underworld as she is captured. To her surprise, they don’t torture her at first, but they embalm the surviving members of her loyal guards. They scream for her, call out her name, but she cannot do anything but watch. They will suffocate in their tombs, alone in the darkness. For her, the Pharaoh’s guards have kept the worse punishment of all: the Hom-Dai. They cut her tongue without any delicacy, but then she supposes this kind of operation rarely ever has any. Being embalmed alive is the part she is afraid of the least. But what comes next... 

They force open her mouth as they open the jars, and she can hear them before they start being poured into the sarcophagus in which she is trapped. The sacred scarabs, dark blue and black, attack her with a strange savagery. They go down her throat, up her nostrils... 

Lilith has been cursed by this. By eating the scarabs, albeit unwillingly, she has given up her humanity. She will be a plague on humanity, if she’s ever released from her entombment. 

Centuries pass. Hamunaptra fades from the memory of all but one group. The descendants of the Pharaoh’s guards, the Medjai, keep watch over the city of the dead. They do not mingle in men’s affairs. There are too many wars nowadays, too many dying men. They only become involved when the war, as many do, turn to Hamunaptra. The curse calls the vile and the reject of human society, and the few who come there for knowledge or pure intentions rarely ever leave that way, if they ever do. The Medjai take care of whoever tries to enter the City of the Dead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec isn't a clumsy librarian, he just has priorities. And two very animated sisters, who know how to get him into the best kind of troubles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I was going to post this chapter earlier in the week, but life caught up with me and I forgot? Sorry! The chapters will be longer and longer from now on! 
> 
> Enjoy!

_Cairo, 1923_

Alexander Lightwood is perched on a ladder. It’s not an ideal position by any means, and he would really, really appreciate not being up there. But his life is his life, and he is perched on a ladder, stuck between two very weak bookshelves that would most likely collapse if he tried to put his whole weight on them. It is a highly uncomfortable position, but he can’t slide to the floor either. He would risk burning his hands. Plus, he is holding a very rare book on Seti I that he doesn’t want to throw on the floor. It would be irresponsible of him. He can’t stay stuck like this forever though. He has to try something. 

His ‘something’ results in the Museum’s library falling down around him and a yelling Hodge. 

“— A catastrophe,” the Museum’s curator is shouting, “Why do I put up with you?” 

The yelled question is clearly meant to be rhetorical. And yet… 

“You put up with me because…” He hesitates a bit, not fully sure he should really be answering this. “Because I can read and write Ancient Egyptian, decipher hieroglyphs and hieratic, as well as being the only person in a thousand miles who knows how to organize and catalogue this insane library.” 

Hodge looks even more angry at his answer. “I put up with you because your parents were very good patrons and close friends, god rest their souls.” 

There is a beat of silence and Alec feels a bit sheepish. He did just almost destroy the Museum’s library. Putting it back together properly will take days, if not weeks. With a last yelled order, Hodge leaves, storming out of the room while muttering under his breath. 

Alec is picking up some of the books on the floor when a noise resonates in the backroom, where they store the mummies and other artifacts before exposing them in the main halls. It’s strange, Alec could have sworn the other workers had left. He walks there, grabbing a torch on the way. If someone dangerous is in there, he can always scare them off with some fire before starting to punch. Not that he knows how to punch but well. He is a tall, relatively well built young man. Books and stories make him somewhat confident he can hold his own in a fight, to some extent. 

Shuffles and more noises come from one of the open tombs. Alec doesn’t believe in things as silly as walking mummies and curses but, as he nears the stone tomb, he starts thinking maybe he was wrong. Maybe all those expeditions where men don’t come back, where they die of fright or strange disease, maybe they know something he doesn’t. 

“Alec!” Clary pops up from the tomb, her braided hair in disarray. 

He yells as she and Isabelle pops up from the tomb. Both girls are giggling and clutching each other, clearly drunk. They must have, as always when the two sisters are bored on an evening, broken into their parents’ liquor cabinet. How they managed to get here, he doesn’t really know. They mustn’t be as drunk as they appear. He knows Izzy can hold her liquor, much more than Clary. But he also knows a drunk Clary is very good at convincing a tipsy Izzy. 

“Clarissa! Isabelle!” He uses their full names and they giggle even more as they climb out of the tomb, leaning on his arms. “What are you two doing here? How did you even get in?”

Clary giggles loudly as she holds onto his arm. “Izzy promised she would go on a date with that Raj fella. He’s a real goof!” 

“Izzy, you can’t go around promising dates like this! If mom was around—“ 

“Oh don’t go on about what mom and Luke would have wanted,” Izzy rolls her eyes. “They would have wanted all of us to be happy, and to have fun, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Plus it’s not like I’m ever going on a date with him. You’re going to scare him off like you scare off all the others, and I’m going to die alone, an old maid like Great Aunt Sophia.” 

“Maybe you need to find someone worthy of you then. And no, none of the men you’ve introduced to me were good enough.” 

“Then perhaps I should do like Clary and start introducing women?” She teases her sister with a grin. 

The redhead laughs with her sister and Alec rolls his eyes. Between him who favors men, Clary who favors women, and Izzy who has no distinct preferences, their parents had been quite astonished. Especially when Alec had announced his own preferences by breaking his engagement with Lady Branwell. His mother had come around after a while, and Luke, her second husband and his stepfather, had accepted him and Clary easily enough. Their only conditions had been that they remain discreet in their dealings. Heirs weren’t too much of a concern; after all, their family was already patchy enough as it was. Him and Isabelle were siblings, but Clary was their sister only through marriage: her stepfather had married the Lightwoods’ mother when she had been five, Alec eight and Izzy six. Clary, as the only child of Lord Valentine Morgenstern, had already ended her father’s line by simply being born a woman, while Alexander and Isabelle had been disowned by their father, Lord Robert Lightwood, as soon as he had a son with his new wife. 

“If you bring a woman who’s worthy of you, I’ll be more than happy to give you my blessing, Izzy. But for now…” 

“Yes, I know, for now I only bring bindle punks and drugstore cowboys.”

“Exactly.” He ignored his sister’s pout and sat down at the base of a statue, Clary immediately coming up to sit and get a cuddle. “I keep forgetting how clingy you get when you are drunk… But you didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?” 

“Well, Izzy had a gentleman come in for a drink,” Clary starts, not paying attention to her sister’s betrayed noises, “and he gave her this box, saying he nicked it from some fella named Magnus Bane. Now, neither Izzy or I are…” she looks at the older woman with a frustrated look. “What’s the word?” 

“Archaeologist,” Izzy fills in as she cuddles up to her brother as well.

“Right, we aren’t that, but you are—“ 

“Am not,” whispers an exasperated Alec. Not that he wouldn’t want to be one, but his application keeps getting rejected. He suspects it has something to do with his father’s influence. He holds his sisters against himself, wondering when they became so bothersome and complicated. 

“You work in a museum and you know tons of stuff about history. Now shush, stop interrupting. So I was saying, neither of us are you, but the thing looks real ancient, and we thought we could go on an adventure! So we brought it to you.” 

Clary produces a small box from a hidden pocket of her long skirt. It’s intricate and beautifully carved. There are markings, hieroglyphs he quickly comes to realize, in the metal. It looks to be as old as any of the sarcophagus in the museum, perhaps older, but it’s in a pristine condition. He twiddles with it while his sisters watch him. 

“So, have we found something fun?” Izzy asks, clearly over her previous feelings of betrayal towards her siblings. 

“Oh, is it a puzzle box the children played with?” The enthusiasm in Clary’s voice lets him believe she is perhaps less drunk than she seemed to be before, but he still doesn’t answer. 

If it is a puzzle box, it’s one ominous puzzle. The hieroglyphs are dark, talking of death and curses as he twists them slowly. 

“I think,” he says as the box opens up into the shape of a multi-branched star with a map on an old parchment, “that you’ve definitely found something. We should go see Hodge.” 

They wait until Clary can pass as sober again before going to see Hodge. He is an old friend of their family and they trust him to help them. Plus, this is a historical and archeological matter, he should be fascinated. After all, Alec is pretty sure he has just found the lost city Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead that inhabited so many of the stories his parents told him about.

\---

“Hamunaptra, nothing less,” scoffs Hodge when they come to see him in his office. 

It’s rather late, but he is there as always. It almost looks like he never leaves the Museum. Alec, Izzy and Clary imagined stories to explain this when they were children. Their favorite one, by far, had been the story of a tormented, cursed Hodge, who had been placed under the spell of an evil magician and could never set foot outside of the Museum, nor speak of the curse, without endless pain. They had been, Alec realizes now, quite bored and imaginative. 

“Yes,” the younger man insists and traces the sigil on the top of the parchment. “See there, I’m quite sure that’s the royal seal of Pharaoh Adam the First.”

“I’ve got a quick question,” Izzy starts, leaning over the desk to look at the map as well while Clary looks around at the office. “Who the hell is Adam the First?” 

“The third pharaoh of the Old Kingdom. He is said to have been the wealthiest of them all.”

“I like him,” the brunette says as she hops to sit on the desk, Hodge gasping affronted next to her, “I like him very much.” 

“It’s impossible,” refutes Hodge, shoving the map away, “Hamunaptra is a legend, a fairytale told by historians and tour guides to gullible tourists. Don’t tell me you believe in that nonsense.” 

“Wait, are we talking about the Hamunaptra?” Clary turns back to them, looking serious. In the flame of the open lantern, her hair dances like fire around her head. “City of the Dead, cursed by the gods, where mom said the pharaoh hid the wealth of Egypt? This Hamunaptra?” 

“Exactly,” Alec is delighted at his sister’s clear enthusiasm. “It’s said that the pharaoh and his great priest could control its location, make it appear and disappear for each ceremony. And, up until the end of Adam I, we have some tales of it, but after that, nothing. The city vanished!” 

“That’s utter nonsense,” Hodge says as he examines the map again at the light of the lantern. 

Izzy hops down the desk, getting closer to her siblings. Her dress is tighter and shorter than Clary’s, but both women are beautiful. Alec doesn’t believe one second that either will end up an old maid. Him, however… He will probably be the eternal bachelor. 

“Alec, do you really believe that this map is the map to Hamunaptra?”

Her brother is nodding and almost speaking when he looks back at Hodge and sees the map catching on fire. The curator lets out a curse and quickly smothers out the fire, but the damage is done; a corner of the map, where the location of the city had been written, has disappeared in the flames.

“You destroyed the map,” Clary accuses as she snatches the smoldering map from the man’s grip. “How could you destroy it!” 

“Now, Clarissa, it was an accident,” the older man says, looking almost convincingly contrite. “I meant no harm. But it’s better this way. You three would have only gotten yourself into some trouble, and your parents wouldn’t have wanted that.” 

“We will keep from hearing your opinions on your parents,” Izzy says as she snags the puzzle box, tone vicious. “I believe they had stopped speaking to you for a reason at the end of their lives.” 

The girls storm out, anger written on their faces, and Alec only has the time to see a flash of hurt on the curator’s face before he rushes out after them. He can’t let this go like this. There is absolutely no chance he is not going to pursue this. Hamunaptra had been a dream of his mother, and one of his since he was a child. And he knows for sure that his sisters are now as determined as he is. 

“Iz,” he asks as they walk home a bit later, “what do you know of this Magnus Bane?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought! Either here in comments or on tumblr @saltytransmalec, my writing sideblog where I post about all my fics and sometimes original pieces!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Hamunaptra leads them to Cairo's prison, where they meet Magnus Bane..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Here is the chapter! Hope you'll enjoy :) 
> 
> Don't hesitate to leave a comment or kudos, they make my days :D

_Cairo’s prison, three days later_

Alec walks in the prison with his sisters on his arms, both women looking more delighted than they should be in their environment. Izzy, clad in a dark red dress that only enhances her beauty, waves at the prisoners, who whistles and calls out to her. Clary is much less interested in the men, but she asks question after question to the warden of the prison, who looks a bit disturbed by the beautiful young woman. Alec, both out of sheer protectiveness and pity for the warden, cuts in. 

“So why is he in here?” 

The warden, a foul little man with clever eyes and a drunken breath, shrugs. 

“I asked that m’self when I heard y’were coming, mister Lightwood. And I asked him too.”

“And what did he answer?” 

“He said he was just... looking for a good time.”

Alec can understand why no one would want to tell anything to the warden. He has not been ten minutes in his presence and Alec already wants to leave. They reach an empty cell and, at a tap of the warden’s stick against the metals bar, the inside door of the cell opens, two guards dragging the prisoner inside. 

Magnus Bane is... there is not much to be said about him at the moment, except dirty. That’s the first word that comes to Alec’s mind as he examines him. He has a goatee growing over a jawline that the young Englishman can admit is quite sharp, but there is no elegance to it, no trim or care. His dark hair falls over his face, clearly unwashed and not taken care of at the moment. His eyes are, admittedly, beautiful and entrancing. The two golden brown pupils stare at the siblings, jumping from one to the other frequently. Alec doesn’t miss the look Bane gives him, the grin that spread over his face. It makes him shiver a bit. Yes, Magnus Bane is dirty, and a criminal condemned to the gallows, but he is also intriguing and fascinating. He looks like a man with a thousand stories to tell. 

“So he’s just a filthy criminal?” He asks the warden, who nods and shrugs. 

“Alec!” Izzy scolds him and Clary hits his arm with her palm. She has always been stronger than she looked, so he rubs at the sore spot with a wince. 

“My apologies for my brother,” Izzy starts smoothly, putting on a charming smile. “He means no harm.” 

“Oh I’m sure he does,” Bane answers, voice deep and smooth. “So who are you, pretty boy?” 

Alec swallows dryly, the nickname pleasing him despite the knowledge he should be offended. He glances to the warden, who is glancing distractedly at a commotion on the other side of the courtyard. With relief, Alec watches him leave. 

“My name is Alexander Lightwood, these are my sisters Isabelle and Clarissa. We,” He hesitates a bit, his sisters looking away as he searches for his words. There is something they aren’t telling him. “We found your puzzle box, and we were wondering, could you tell us where you found it?” 

“No,” comes Magnus Bane’s answer, a smug smirk on his face.

“No?” 

“No, you want to know where the City of the Dead is.” He says.

Bane gets a closer look at the two women when his guards hit him across the back of the head, projecting him against the bars. 

“Hey, do I know you,” he is clearly talking to Clary, whose light complexion means that the small blush that blooms underneath her freckles is more than visible. “Yes, you were at the _Osiris_ the other night! And your sister as well. Although, neither of you were dressed this nicely...” 

He grins again and Alec steps forward. He will have a word with his sisters about their excursions to the badly frequented club later; right now, Hamunaptra is more important. 

“No matter this, how do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?”

Magnus looks back at him, eyes intensely focused. “Because that’s where I was when I found it.” 

The three Lightwoods startle at that and walk closer to the bars, until Alec is close to Bane, the two women standing on each side of him, forming a small circle with the prisoner. 

“You were actually there,” the eldest sibling asks, a bit breathlessly. “You went to Hamunaptra?” 

Bane nods, and Clary looks at him suspiciously. “How do we know you aren’t lying?” 

“Lady, I can swear on all the known gods that I went there.” 

“Could you tell us how to get there?” Alec asks, moving a bit forward. 

Magnus looks at him. “You want to know?” 

Alec walks closer as Magnus beckons him, somewhat entranced by the beautiful man. “Yes.” 

“You really want to know?” 

“Yes,” Alec repeats, exasperated. He is so close to the other man now that he can see every details in his face, every speck of gold in his eyes. 

With a rapidity that neither Lightwoods had suspected, Magnus grabs Alec by the jacket and kisses him wildly. It’s not a great kiss, more savage and demanding than any kiss Alec has ever received before, but it leaves him stunned as a guard hits Bane on the head again. As he struggles to regain control of his emotions, the two guards that were behind the prisoner starts to dragging him out as he shouts. 

“Then get me the hell out of there!”

The guards drag the protesting man out through the back door, and Alec turns to the warden, who is just coming back towards them. 

“Where are they taking him?” 

“To be hanged,” the warden starts before being interrupted by protestations of the two women, “Apparently, he had a very good time!” 

They manage, mostly thanks to Izzy’s charming smile, to obtain a seat next to the warden for the execution. On the way there, Alec grabs his sisters by the arm, tugging them a bit behind while the warden babbles about the wonders of prisons, or something. Alec’s mind is a bit preoccupied by thoughts of Bane’s smooth lips on his own.

“The _Osiris_,” he questions, tone flat. 

Both girl have the decency to look somewhat contrite at having been caught. 

“Clary had a meeting with one of her… lady friends,” Izzy explains in an undertone, “and I thought better to accompany her. So we put on some of your clothes and we went!” 

“And Bane?” 

“We bumped into him in the main hall,” Clary mumbles, tugging her hat back into place, “he was drunk and the box fell out of his pocket… So we thought to bring it to you!” 

“So Izzy’s gentleman at the house was a lie?” He whispers angrily as they reach their seats, sitting next to the warden while the girls sit behind them. 

“Sorry!” They whisper back and he rolls his eyes at them. Sisters. 

He focuses back on Bane as the man is brought on the gallows. He really looks rugged and angry as he tries to fight back against the guards, but they pass the cord around his neck and tighten the knot slightly. 

“I’ll give you a hundred pounds to spare this man’s life,” Alec tells the warden, trying to sound calm and not desperate. 

“Sir, I would pay a hundred pound to see him hang.” 

“Two hundred pounds.” 

“Proceed!” The warden shouts, clearly uninterested in Alec’s offer. 

“Three hundred pounds!” 

This gives a stop to the warden, who looks at him suspiciously. He narrows his eyes and then turns his head to look at the two women sitting behind them. He leers at Clary. 

“And what else? I am a very lonely man, after all…” Saying that, he attempts to put a hand on Clary’s leg, but she slaps it away, affronted, before it can reach its destination. 

The warden glares at the Lightwoods and turns back to the hanging, nodding to the guards. Hopelessly, Alec watches as Bane, the only man who knows how to get to Hamunaptra, is hanged. 

“Ah!” Shouts the warden gleefully. “His neck did not break! Now we must watch him suffocate!” 

Alec’s sisters protests and starts shouting, asking for Bane to be released. The prisoners gathered downstairs in the courtyard also grow agitated and starts causing a ruckus. The aspiring archeologist can see fights break out.

“He knows how to get to Hamunaptra!” He says, out of any other ideas. 

“You are telling me,” the warden looks at him, unconvinced, “that this godless bastard knows how to get to the City of the Dead?”

“Yes! He is the only one who can take us there! If you let him go, we’ll give you… ten percent of the treasure!” 

“Fifty,” the warden argues. 

“Fifteen,” Alec answers. He won’t let himself be tricked like this. 

“Forty!” 

Bane is struggling at the end of the cord and he shouts a garbled sentence that vaguely resemble a “give him what he wants” that Alec chooses to ignore. 

“Thirty!

“Twenty five!”

Alec and his sisters shout with triumph as the warden realizes what he just said. They shake the deal as the guards cut loose Bane. Standing up with a smug look on his face, Alec looks down at Magnus Bane, satisfied with himself. Hamunaptra and the book of the living are much more important than any part of the treasure, yes, but still. Alec wasn’t about to lose all dignity by giving fifty percent of a treasure he doesn’t have yet to the warden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! Come talk to me on tumblr (@saltytransmalec) where I post about this and other fics! Or leave a comment :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A boat ride, some discussions, and a tipsy Clary!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Welcome back! 
> 
> Here is, later than I intended, the fourth chapter!! Hope y'all will enjoy it! There is some light violence, some alcohol mention, and a lot of fun !

_Giza Port, five days later_

Alec is tapping his foot anxiously on the ground. He is wearing his usual clothes, since he has none that he found none more suitable for traveling, which means he is wearing a dark canvas pants with a light shirt. He foregone the jacket; it’s too hot nowadays for those, and he has one in his bag if he gets too cold at any points. His sisters, who, despite his own insistence that they stay at home where they would be safe, insisted on coming, are wearing similar clothes underneath their dresses. Both had complained that it was hard to ride and run in their dress, and wasn’t it the whole point of adventure to be comfortable in any scenario? To which he had agreed and let them rummage through his closet, as long as they wore dresses until they had left the port. He trusts that they’ll be reasonable after that. Somewhat reasonable at least. If he’s lucky enough. 

“Are you sure he is going to show up?” He asks Clary, who had gone to talk with Bane after his failed hanging. 

Alec had refused to go. The memory of the kiss had been too fresh in his mind, too clear. He hadn’t wanted to give the man any other opportunity to try again. Kissing him in public, like this! Isn’t Bane ashamed? If anyone else than the guards and Alec’s sisters had seen it, it could have had grave consequences for both of them. Egypt under the British law is not the kindest to men of Alec’s, and seemingly Bane’s, type. And Alec would rather not see the jails from any closer. 

“Of course he is! I’m sure Mister Bane is a perfect gentleman.” 

Alec rolls his eyes at his sister’s naivety. “Personally, I think he’s filthy, rude and a complete scoundrel. I don’t like him one bit.”

“Anyone I might know?” The smooth voice of Bane cuts in and they all turn to look at him. 

He has shaved his goatee closer to his face and it only enhances his natural beauty. His hair is well cut too, with a slightly longer length on the top. He wears clean clothes, a silken shirt half open with dark pants and sturdy shoes. In his left hand, he is holding a large bag whose contents Alec can only make uneducated guesses of. Bane’s appearance makes something stir inside him; this is no longer the scruffy, filthy prisoner he met five days ago. This is the handsome explorer his mother’s tales always spoke of. This is a man Alec would very much like to kiss, again and again. 

“Oh um. Hello mister Bane.” 

Magnus gives him an amused look, rising an eyebrow and shakes his extended hand. 

“A pleasure, Alexander.” 

He shakes hands with Izzy and Clary afterwards, but Alec is still not fully convinced this is a good idea. The way the man said his name was outrageous. So smooth and elegant, like it was the name of a lover, whispered in the privacy of a bed. Alec wants to hear it, over and over again. But no. Magnus Bane is a rude criminal, whose kisses are like a heavenly water on Alec’s parched lips and... No. No more of this. Hamunaptra is more important than the passing fancy of his libido. 

“Shall we get on then?” Bane starts to the ship waiting for them, Clary on his arm. 

“Rude and filthy, is that all he is, my dear brother?” Izzy teases as she puts her arm through his. “I’m quite sure you wouldn’t mind becoming a lollygagger for that scoundrel.”

“You insult me, Isabelle,” he protests, but even to his own ear his rebuttal sounds weak. She’s right that he wouldn’t mind kissing those lips again and again, tasting the tantalizing golden skin and hears the moans that would come out of his mouth… But more urgent matters are waiting his approval. 

“Come on,” he pushes her on board gently. “The boat will be departing soon.” 

She laughs a bit but loops her arm through his as they climb on board.

It’s when the boat is leaving the port that Alec sees the ghostly pale figure of the warden, swearing at the boat and shaking his fist. He had intended to come then. Alec can only be glad he missed the departure; the warden would, undoubtedly, have made for a terrible travel companion.

\---

The boat rocks gently with the lull of the river, a peaceful advance that is much more appreciated than Magnus’ last travel to Hamunaptra. The company is altogether quite pleasant as well. He has just changed into more comfortable clothes, more suited for travelling, but much less impressionable. He regrets it somewhat. Alexander’s expression had been delightful. And the way his eyes had trailed on Magnus’ torso had confirmed what Magnus thought; he hadn’t been wrong to kiss the young man. 

He steps out from the hallways that leads to the cabin and onto the deck and frowns at seeing Clary and Isabelle drinking at a table and playing a card game, surrounded by men that looks at them veraciously. Having a bad feeling, he steps forward and puts a hand on Isabelle’s shoulder. The dark haired woman smiles up at him, her eyes intelligent and cunning. She’s nowhere near drunk, and while he doesn’t know what her intentions with the men are, he doesn’t think she’ll be reckless. 

“Magnus,” she exclaims in delight, and he smiles at the enthusiasm in her voice, “did you know those American gentlemen are looking for Hamunaptra?” 

He looks at the American and nods politely. He can tell they are nothing more than treasure hunters, searching for gold and glory in the ruins of Egypt. Just for that, he despises them a little. Magnus ended up in Egypt as an explorer. He has always wanted to discover the world, see it in all its beautiful glory. Yes, sometimes it helps to lead groups like the Lightwoods to ruins, pays for hot meals and warm beds. But there is so much more to life than just that. 

“I didn’t, Isabelle,” he smiles again, pleasant and polite. “What makes you gentlemen think you’ll reach the lost city?” 

“We’ve got someone who’s actually been there,” one of the American answers smugly. “And we hear y’all are also looking for it, Bane.” 

He looks to Clary when he says this, and the redhead blushes slightly of embarrassment. Contrary to her sister, her glass is more than half empty, and Magnus can tell it’s not the first one. The young woman looks slightly abashed at this, and Magnus pats her shoulder lightly. 

“We might be.” 

“Bet you 500 dollars we get to it before you do,” another American says, chewing on a piece of tobacco, teeth already yellowed by the product. 

Magnus has always loved a good bet. “That’s a deal,” he says as he shakes the man’s hand. Turning to Isabelle, he adds in a low voice, “You should bring your sister back to your quarters. Better not let her around those men.” 

The young woman nods and tugs her sister until she is standing, excusing them while Magnus looks for a quiet table. He doesn’t see Alexander on the main deck, and that’s quite the surprise. He had expected to see him right next to his sisters, he seemed quite the protective brother. 

Alexander, he finds out a few seconds later as he rounds the ship, is hiding out, reading a book on a separate table near the camels and horses. 

Magnus tosses his bag on the table and smirks a little when the man startles. He likes pushing reactions from the eldest Lightwood. Those hazel eyes that sparkle and thunder are quite endearing. Alexander looks affronted at his audacity.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Magnus grins lightly. 

“The only thing that scares me, Mister Bane, are your manners,” Alexander scoffs as he closes his book. 

“Still angry about that kiss then?” 

The other man crosses his arms, looking at the teasing adventurer defiantly. “If you call that a kiss.” 

Oh, Magnus has got a player. His grin only widens and he opens his bag. He watches with amusement as Alexander examines the arsenal of guns and knives with an affronted frown. Not a fan of weapons then. 

“Is that all necessary? I don’t believe I missed anything, we aren’t marching to war.” 

“Last time I was at that place, everybody I was with died,” Magnus answers and this wipes the angry look off Alexander’s face quickly. Before the man can offer condolences or other kinds of meaningless words, Magnus continues, “there is something under all that sand, something evil that doesn’t want anyone there.” 

“I don’t believe in hokum and fairytales mister Bane,” Alexander says. “I’m not interested in the treasure or the scary legends we tell tourists.” 

“Then what are you interested in, Alexander,” Magnus asks, and he doesn’t miss the man’s expression when he says his name like this. Interesting. 

Alexander lights up at Magnus’ question. It seems the adventurer has found the right thing to ask. The passion that overcomes his feature can easily be described as beautiful. 

“You see, I believe one of the most famous book in Egyptian history is buried under Hamunaptra. The Book of the Living. It was what interested me as a child in archeology and history. My mother and stepfather would tell me tales of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and this book would often be mentioned. It’s sort of a life pursuit, in my family. My mother always wanted to find it.” 

“So the fact they say it’s made of pure gold has no importance to you,” Magnus asks with a smile. 

“You know your history,” Alexander marvels at his knowledge and Magnus chuckles. 

“I know my treasures,” he corrects. 

Alexander rolls his eyes, but there is a fondness behind it. If Magnus wanted to flatter himself, he would say it’s some sort of attraction. The man stands up, picking back up his book from the table and, hesitating, turns back to Magnus. 

“By the way... Why did you kiss me?” 

He seems strangely vulnerable asking this, but he tries to hide it. He stands back straight, with his hands folded over his book as he holds it, and he stares directly at Magnus. 

Cleaning his gun with a mildly dirty cloth, Magnus shrugs. “I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and you were the nearest one. And the prettiest one,” he can’t stop himself from teasing. 

There is a bit of a choking noise and he looks up. Alexander seems furious and he storms off. 

“What? Did I say something wrong?” 

Magnus is about to follow the other man to explain himself, but there is a shuffling noise behind some packages stored on the side. He goes to look instead of pursuing Alexander, and pulls a blond, muscled man, who is slightly shorter than him. 

“Well if it isn’t my old friend Jace,” Magnus says through greeted teeth, tightening his grip on the man’s collar. 

Jace struggles a bit in his grip, trying to defend himself and smiling weakly. “Magnus! It’s so good to see you ... alive!” 

It must indeed be a surprise to the man. Jace and Magnus had been part of an expedition that had found Hamunaptra a few months prior. They had been reluctant friends, if one could say it like this. When the Tuaregs had attacked their expedition, Jace had left Magnus to die outside the city. It had been quite the scramble to stay alive for Magnus, but he had managed, like always. 

“I imagine it’s you leading the Americans then. So what’s the deal with them, you take them halfway through the desert and then leaves them to die?”

“I wish it was so easy,” Jace laments, not attempting to hide his intentions. It would be of no use with Magnus. “But the Americans are smart! They are paying half to go, half to bring them back!” 

Magnus hums lightly, untouched by the tremors in Jace’s voice. The man’s very existence annoys him and makes him want to punch someone. There is no chance he will, in any way whatsoever, ever pity this traitorous bastard. 

“What brings you back to the City of the Dead,” Jace questions, as if they are friends and can afford to answer each other honestly. 

The sound of conversation in the doorway to the cabins makes Magnus turn his head before he answers Jace. Alexander is speaking with Isabelle, quiet and private, and the plain affection on the two siblings’ face is enough to tell Magnus that nothing could ever separate the Lightwoods. It’s a strange realization, but Magnus understands that Alexander pours into his relationships, whether they be familial or not, his whole heart. He may be starting to understand why the other man was so upset by Magnus’ answer. 

Jace misinterpret the adventurer’s gaze and looks at Isabelle with greedy eyes. “You always had more balls than brain, Bane.” He laughs like the idiot he is for a few seconds. 

Magnus pretends to laugh alongside him and then lifts Jace ever so slightly off the floor. “Goodbye Jace,” He says calmly as he throws him off the boat and into the cold water. It’ll maybe clean him off and help with the disastrous odor he leaves in his wake. 

“You’ll pay for this, Magnus Bane,” shouts Jace as he tries to hold onto their boat, to no avail. 

Magnus is already moving on, wanting to go apologize to Alexander for his words.

\---

In his cabin, Alec is finishing brushing his teeth. His hand moves up and down angrily. How dare that— this low budget adventurer, this untrustworthy liar, answer like this? Does he think Alec has no feelings, that he has no pride at all and is willing to accept “you were there and I was about to die” as a passable excuse for being stolen a kiss? Alec won’t let it go on like this. He bends down to wash his face in the basin, ignoring the way his heart thuds at the memory of the kiss. Traitor. 

When he looks up, there is a man behind him and a knife pressed against his throat.He’s slightly taller than Alec, with a deep brown skin, and there are markings on his cheeks that Alec recognizes as Arabic script, but he doesn’t have time to decipher them.

“Where is the map?” The man asks, pressing the blade tighter against the skin. 

Helplessly, Alec nods towards the desk where the map to Hamunaptra, despite having been partly burnt, is displayed. He had planned on studying it some more before going to sleep tonight. 

“Where is the key?” The question is rough again. 

“Key? What key?” 

“The key! Where is it!”

Alec doesn’t have the time to answer again. The door to the cabin opens up with a powerful swing and Magnus steps in, a gun in each hand. 

“Alexander!” He looks at the man, who has moved to be behind Alec while still holding his knife against the young scholar’s throat. “Friend of yours?” 

Alec glares at the adventurer slightly. The handsome devil is pointing both his guns at the strangers, looking uncharacteristically serious. He has a hard gleam in his eyes as he takes in the situation fully. 

The square window above the desk explodes with an incoming shot, and the man holding Alec lets go of him. Running the farthest away from him as possible, he finds himself near Bane as he shots at the man holding the knife. It’s a strange series of events; one minute Alec is running away, the next he has Bane’s strong arm wrapped around him. 

The attacker dodges the bullet easily enough, and is following Alec only a few second later. Thankfully, Magnus is already tugging at Alec’s arm and leading him away. 

“Wait, the map!” Alec startles as he remembers and tries to run back to the cabin, but Magnus’ hand holds him back. 

“I am the map,” he says with confidence, and Alec is aware he shouldn’t be finding this as attractive as he is at the moment. 

Outside, it’s mayhem. Men and women, with similar markings and outfits to the man who attacked Alec, are ransacking the boat, turning it up and down as they search something. The Americans, with their abysmal and beastly manners, are already shooting at them, which means that some of the unknown passengers are jumping out of the way of the bullets intended for the attacking men. A fire started somewhere in the back and is slowly growing through the boat. 

Magnus leads Alec with an iron hand, shooting at the man pursuing them, or at others who attempt an attack. The strangers also have guns, it turns out, and they quickly make use of it, shooting at the two men who are trying to take cover. 

They settle behind a wall, panting a bit after the insanely paced run. The space is tight and Alec and Magnus are closer than they have been ever since the kiss in the prison. Alec knows that the erratic beatings of his heart aren’t only due to the run. He wants Magnus Bane, more than he ever thought he could want someone, and it’s infuriating. He barely even knows the man. 

A shot pierces the wall close to Magnus, but the man is busy reloading his guns. Another shot, closer to his head, and he still doesn’t move. There is no indication he has even noticed the two holes in the wall next to him. 

Afraid that two shots never come without a third, Alec grabs Magnus’ shirt and moves him. The third and fourth shots pierce the wall where Magnus had been just moments before. The man appears surprised, looking at Alec with a new light in his eyes, but this doesn’t last long. There are still shots fired everywhere, shouts and screams, and a fire started near the animals. He pushes Alec toward the main bridge until they are against the rail and looking down the dark water. 

The Nile is, thankfully, quite the peaceful river, but still. It doesn’t look quite good for a dip at this hour. 

“Can you swim?” 

“Of course I can swim,” Alec protests, “If the occasion calls for it!” 

“Trust me,” Magnus says as he lifts Alec in his arms, as if the taller man weighed nothing more than a feather, “it calls for it!” 

Alec screams as he falls towards the water. 

On the boat, Clary and Izzy have had the time to change into their more masculine outfit before they heard the first gunshots. Immediately they had gravitated to their brother’s room, but before reaching it, they had encountered a man with a knife in one hand and the box they had given to Alec. 

“Hey, that’s ours!” Izzy shouts and, grabbing a piece of wood from the torn wall, she hits the man with it. 

Clary rushes forward and grabs the box, before gripping her sister’s arm and running away. They are just on the deck when they see Magnus plunging into the water, and they exchange a look with each other. Both can swim, but they have a shared distaste for impromptu swims in large rivers where crocodiles are rumored to be living. Still, with a sigh that leaves their lungs in the same second, they head towards it. If they had a gander to take, they would bet Alec is with Magnus. 

A shout distracts Clary from jumping after Isabelle. The man from earlier is rushing towards her, attention clearly focused on the box she is still holding. She groans and quickly puts it in a pocket of her jacket, readying her stance as the man reaches her. He doesn’t have the time to touch her before she hits him in the jaw. She is thankful for her first lover, who had taught her how to throw a few mean punches if men ever approached them. Still, the armed man comes back at her immediately, and she feels his hand closing on her throat. Something hits the man from behind and he falters and fall down. 

With a loud shout, the American who just shot her attacker celebrates, and Clary shakes her head. Her hair has come loose in the fight, draping her in a bright fire like shadow. 

“Americans,” she says with distaste, and jumps over the railing, joining her sister and brother on the shore, where Magnus Bane is helping them up. 

“Hey, Bane,” a voice shouts a few minutes later, as Alec is complaining he has lost all his equipment and clothes. 

A blond man, drenched in water, is sneering at them from the other side of the river. The Americans are tugging on the horses’ manes and reins to get them on the banks of the Nile. 

“Looks like I’ve got all the horses!” 

Bane finishes helping up Clary and steps back into the water, shouting back. “Hey Jace! Looks like you are on the wrong side of the river!” 

The man takes in his surrounding, and even from afar, the Lightwoods can see him groan as he realizes Magnus is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up on next Sunday! I'll share a preview of it on my tumblr (@saltytransmalec) on Friday or Saturday, and if you have any questions about this AU (or any other!) I would be delighted to answer there :) 
> 
> Please leave a comment! They really make my day :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More about the Lightwoods and the race to Hamunaptra

“Oh no, I’m not paying this much for those fleabags,” Izzy is protesting loudly, while Bane argues with the camel seller in a fast paced Arabic. 

“Isabelle, my dear,” he turns to her briefly, and she can tell he is putting his best effort to be as polite and nice as he can. She admits that her dear brother has maybe finally found his match in Bane. “Would you please give the man his money for the four camels he is graciously selling us, when it’s his livestock and the way he lives?” 

She feels a bit ashamed at her own pettiness and hands over the money, adding a bit more than was agreed to apologize for her behavior. She’s glad Alec and Clary aren’t here, or she would never hear the end of it. Her siblings insisted on changing outfits, while Isabelle and Magnus were content enough in their dried clothes. 

“We could have had them for free,” Bane adds a bit teasingly, “all we had to do was sell your brother to his daughter.” 

“Awfully tempting,” Izzy laughs loudly. The men around all look at her, and she enjoys the attention. She is gorgeous in her brother’s dark shirt and linen pants that highlight her thin waist and long legs. She has pulled her hair into two long braids that hang in her back gracefully. She knows she is beautiful, and the looks rarely ever bother her. She knows Clary doesn’t enjoy them, that the idea of being watched by men disgusts her, and that Alec has the same reaction with women approaching him. She understands this, and she’s glad that she can take the attention off her sister. She can’t do much for her brother though. 

“Yes,” Magnus says next to her, looking at Alec and Clary, who have just stepped out of the tent where they bought their clothes and got changed. “Awfully tempting.” 

Alec managed to salvage his linen pants, but he now wears a dark shirt that hangs low and is open, revealing most of his torso. Izzy is aware her brother is considered more than gorgeous by many a girl she has talked to, but something tells her Magnus Bane is of much the same mind, if the way his eyes trail over Alec’s shape are of any indication. It promises to be an interesting journey. 

\---

Magnus can’t believe he is going back to Hamunaptra, all of that because of Alexander Lightwood’s pretty eyes. He hasn’t even been promised any money, he is going back to a cursed city where dead men lay from all across history, and all that because a man with wide eyes came to ask. Now, Magnus doesn’t regret it. He is always up for adventure, and the Lightwoods are a delightful bunch. Isabelle is charming and witty, Clary a little minx with some hint of an anger issue, and Alexander... Alexander is a beautiful mystery, wrapped in a proper young English gentleman package. He has glimpsed, from conversations that the Lightwoods don’t attempt to hide as they travel, that neither of them are quite as proper as they had all looked when they first came to visit the prison. 

Clary is the adopted daughter of Alexander and Isabelle’s stepfather. Her parents had died in a coup to gain possession of one of the colonies abroad, and she had been left in the care of one of the domestics. No one had known she existed at the time of her parents’ death, and it allows her a much appreciated anonymity. She shows no interest in men, but is rather popular among the women of Cairo. 

Isabelle is the daughter of Robert and Maryse Lightwood. She has not known her father much, as he divorced her mother soon after her birth to go back to England with his mistress. Maryse had remarried to Luke Garroway when Isabelle had been seven and Alexander nine, and Clary was five at the time. A tight bond had developed between the two young girls, and they are the mischievous little sisters to a much calmer older brother. She is free in her relationships, enjoying time with both men and women. 

Alexander has left less known. Magnus has gathered, from remarks and looks, that he has a preference for his own gender in relationships, which pleases the adventurer. The English man is also fascinated by Egyptian history and all the myths that surround it. The few times Alexander really speaks extensively are when they pass by ancient ruins on their way, and his sisters ask him about it. 

Magnus enjoys all this. It feels like being part of a family. The Lightwoods have little reserve around him, and they often include him in their discussion. 

To arrive to the City of the Dead quickly, they travel nights as well as days. It’s a slow process, but they cover distance surely enough. On the morning of the fourth day, Magnus knows they only have to wait until the sunrise before they can access the ancient ruins. 

Unfortunately, it’s right as they are waiting that Jace, the Americans, and their workers, show their faces. Magnus had hoped that they had gotten lost in the desert. Or maybe had been picked off by some ravenous animal… Well, a man can dream. 

“Good morning, my friends,” Jace shouts and Magnus rolls his eyes and nods at him. Next to him, Alexander looks a bit confused and disgusted by the man. Good. Magnus is aware that, despite the rather unfortunate nature of Jace’s personality, the man is quite popular due to his physique and good looks. 

The Americans, clearly impatient with the wait, agitates themselves on their horses. 

“What the hell are we waiting?” One of them asks, and Jace inclines his head. He is even more lamentable than he was before, Magnus almost pities him.

“Patience, my friends,” the blond man answers, his eyes traveling over Clary’s form. Magnus’ blood boils a bit. He is already starting to consider the Lightwoods as his to protect and care for, and he won’t let Jace make any of them uncomfortable. 

“Remember our bet, Bane,” yellow teeth shouts, “500 bucks to the first who reach the city!” 

When Magnus doesn’t answer, Alexander leans in, his breath caressing Magnus’ neck. This man has been put on this earth to torture Magnus Bane, it seems. “What are we waiting for?”

“We are about to be shown the way,” Magnus answers and tries to ignore the disappointment when the other man leans back into his seat above his camel, confused. He had such a good view on this nice torso. 

Alexander’s answer is cut short by the rising of the sun over the horizon. Slowly, whatever protects the city is unveiled for the length of the sunrise, and the ancient ruins appear, majestic and golden in the desperate desert landscape. 

Immediately, they start their infernal race. Magnus is, unsurprisingly, the first to go, and Jace follows. Quickly enough, Jace goes slightly past Magnus, his camel probably having had more time to rest beforehand. But Jace, nasty fellow that he is, doesn’t seem to be satisfied with only that, and starts hitting at Magnus with his stick, forcing Magnus to slow down slightly to avoid the hits. After a dozen or so of hits, Magnus is more than tired of him, and, forcing his camel to go faster, grabs Jace’s arms. With a powerful grip, he throws the man off his steed and onto the ground.

There is a satisfaction that comes from deep within Magnus at hearing the /thump/ that follows the fall. Even more satisfaction comes when, right behind him, he hears Alexander’s voice saying “And that serves you right,” while Clary and Isabelle laughs. It makes Magnus chuckle as well. When he glances behind, the Americans are quite far behind, but the eldest Lightwood is almost at his level, which is astonishing. 

The dark haired man had confessed to having never ridden a camel before their journey, and now he is riding with all his might, looking all the more confident as his own camel goes ahead of Magnus. He is smiling more widely than Magnus has ever seen him, and it makes him more handsome and beautiful than ever. With the rising sun, his hazel eyes almost shine a beautiful golden. Magnus stops tugging so hard on his reins as he lets Alexander take the lead. There is something so enchanting about this man, and he can’t wait to figure it out. 

“Go Alec,” Izzy shouts while laughing with her sister. 

\---

In the background the Americans are shouting at the men they employ to work faster and harder, and it creates quite the noisy environment. Clary looks at them with distaste, while Alec and the others are working around a hole that gives on a dark room underneath. She isn’t quite excited about going down there, although the potential it holds certainly has her curious. She wanted an adventure, and she got one, from becoming friend with a criminal, to jumping off a boat on fire, to the race to the ruins. Dark spaces and old books are less her type of adventure however; she has always more dreamed of roaming the world, having lovers left and right, never being attached... But even that, she knows it’s an unattainable dream. For one, she would miss her siblings too much. Without Alec and Izzy, Clary feels a bit paralyzed sometimes. They are what lights up her mood and make her happy on the days she recalls her parents. It doesn’t happen too often, but they are still always there for her. And the second is that she knows a woman like her could never do that on her own. It angers her a bit, but she still gets some adventure.

“Hey, Clary,” Izzy calls out from behind. “Are you gonna stare at the Yankees the whole while or do you plan on helping at some point?” 

Clary rolls her eyes at her sister but she comes closer to their group. Magnus is finishing tying up a rope around the large pillar, looking at Alec as he does this. It’s painfully obvious how attracted the two men are to each other. Alec is busy playing around with a mirror, looking up at the sun and down at the hole in the ground alternatively. She can see his eyes wandering over the explorer’s form every few seconds, but unlike the other man, he attempts to hide. It’s one thing she likes about Magnus Bane; he is shameless. 

Izzy kicks the sand in her direction with a grunt and Clary grins. Her sister is struggling lifting the heavy mirror similar to the one Alec is positioning. She comes over and together, they lift it, following Alec’s instruction. 

“What exactly are those mirrors for,” Magnus asks curiously once he has finished tying the rope. He walks closer to Alec until he is only a few steps away from him.

Clary’s brother smiles, amused. “An Ancient Egyptian trick. You’ll see.” 

The two sisters exchange a glance. Alec is rarely so open like this, especially with men that are not afraid to show their affections. The last one that had shown an interest in Alec had been received with an icy glare and the full might of the proper English gentleman education; education Alec had not had, not really, but he had put on his best impression of his father and had driven away the brazen man. It had been quite the fun evening for the Lightwoods.

“How long do you think Alec has,” Clary whispers to her sister, “before he is overcome by the years of repression and attacks our dear Mr. Bane with his lips?” 

The other woman giggles slightly, attracting the attention of the two men, but she whispers back. “I do believe that it shouldn’t take quite so long now.” 

Exasperated by his sisters’ giggles, Alec rolls his eyes. “Are you two done?” 

“Oh, do let them amuse themselves, Alexander,” Magnus smiles. “We made it too Hamunaptra, didn’t we? We deserve to be merry.” 

Alec rolls his eyes again but he doesn’t say anything back. Clary smiles softly. Her brother is truly under Magnus Bane’s charm, and she is deeply enjoying the spectacle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't hesitate to leave a comment, I love those! You can also come talk to me on tumblr (@saltytransmalec) ! Thanks for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a look inside Hamunaptra, and Magnus and Alec get closer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOPS I'm very late this time :'') Nearly forgot though so I'm glad I managed to remember it on time!
> 
> Enjoy!

Alec watches as Magnus tosses his bag before he goes first underground, testing the resistance of the rope, and, when he shouts that it’s safe, Alec looks at his sisters. 

“Izzy, you go first.” 

“Nope,” she grins. “You wouldn’t want a man like Magnus Bane to put his hands on us, would you? That would be quite shameful. And who knows what could happen, in a dark underground tunnel, with nothing to do but be with each other… We might strike up a fancy for each other.” 

She’s teasing, he knows that. She isn’t interested in Magnus in any way, and they both know the explorer would never do that. And yet… Alec feels a twinge of something twisting in his chest at the idea. A hint of jealousy that takes him at the idea that Magnus could choose Isabelle rather than him. It’s silly, absolutely ridiculous. Alec told himself he wouldn’t fall for the handsome adventurer. After this, Bane will leave and Alec will go back to the museum, and that’s where their association will end. It hurts to think about it, and he hates that it does. 

“Is anyone coming, or was your plan to leave me in this strange, dark chamber ?” Magnus’ voice echoes from underneath and Alec smiles despite himself. 

“I’ll be first,” he warns the man as he glares at his sister. 

Gripping the rope, he is careful to lower himself slowly so as not to burn his hands on the rough material. He has handled enough ropes to know the sensation is more than annoying. As he gets closer to the ground, he looks around himself, observing the dark place they are in. He can distinguish walls and carvings, but not much for now. He’s busy squinting around and he feels himself slip slightly, the cord burning as he falls the last two meters. 

Strong arms stop his fall, catching him around the waist. 

“Careful there, pretty boy,” Magnus says in his ear, and the closeness sends a shiver through Alec’s whole body. 

He lowers his legs to the floor and nods. “I’ll make sure to be from now on. You can let go of me now.” 

“I’m not sure I want to though,” Magnus teases, but he lets go anyway. 

Alec is a bit flushed. The man had been a solid wall of muscles, impressively well built and hardened by the years of exploring he had undoubtedly done. He can just picture what the man looks like without his clothes covering him up, and isn’t that a sinful path to explore. He is here for Hamunaptra, not for anything else. 

Izzy and Clary are quick to follow up, and they both grin. 

“Did something interesting happen, brother?” Izzy loops her arm through his while Clary does the same on the other side. 

“What? No. Absolutely not.” It’s useless to lie to them, they know him better than he knows himself, but still he attempts it. 

“Of course nothing happened,” she pokes his side. “You are too prude for that.” 

“Prude? We are in a city that appeared not three hours ago, and we are under the ruins. I think it’s more a matter of priority.” 

“So you admit you would like something to happen?” Clary asks with a triumphant smiles. 

He never wins, so he simply doesn’t answer while the two women go to see Magnus, who is getting out something from his bag. Alec finds what he was looking for just as Magnus lifts up a torch. He wipes off the dust from the mirror, and light floods the room through the reflection of the sun in the mirror. 

“Nice trick,” Magnus admires. 

“Do you realize,” Alec says a bit breathlessly as he looks around, marveling at his surroundings, “we are standing in a room no one has entered in over four thousand years?” 

“A bit too dusty for my taste,” Izzy says as she pushes away some spider webs. 

Alec looks around a bit more and suddenly, awe overcomes his feature. If he knew that Magnus, seeing that, has just decided on winning his heart, he would undoubtedly splutter and hide away. But he doesn’t know that, so he takes in everything around them. 

“This is a preparation room,” he says, and Clary and Izzy lights up as well. 

“Are you serious?” Clary starts. 

“This is amazing!” Isabelle says at the same time. 

While the three Lightwoods are looking around, Magnus draws out one of his guns. “Preparation for what?” 

Izzy grins as she comes back closer to him while Alec and Clary chatters ahead of them. “Preparation for the mummies, Mr. Bane. This is where they emptied the bodies.” 

Alec turns around just to see the slight look of disgust on Magnus’ face, and it makes him smile widely. It’s always appreciated to know that even a fearless adventurer like Magnus Bane can find the process of mummification disgusting. Personally, Alec finds it fascinating, but he can understand the general distaste for it. 

They venture in the dark hallways of the buried city. Alec looks around, enjoying with an uncommon joy the ruins around him. This is everything he had hoped for and more. 

They reach the base of Anubis’ statue quickly enough, and this is where Magnus life his bag down and plants his torch in the ground decisively. 

“This it?” He gestures at the statue and Alec nods. “Great, I’ve got something for you then.” 

Alec finds himself intrigued when Magnus brings a leather bundle from his bag towards him. He takes it, ignoring the way his sisters are whispering to each other. He’s got better things to do than pay attention to them. 

Inside the bundle are all the tools Alec had thought he had lost in the boat fire, although it clearly isn’t his own. 

“Mr. Bane, this is too much, I—“ 

“It’s just a gift from our friends the Americans,” Magnus shrugs, but he looks pleased by Alec’s reaction. “I thought you would make a better use of it than me.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Bane.” This sentence, Alec whispers it, planting his eyes in the other man’s. It creates an intimacy around them, a sense of privacy and closeness that he craves with the other man. 

Magnus coughs slightly, looking a bit red above the cheeks, and turns back to the statue. “Right, on with that now.” 

The girls chuckle and turns back to the stone statue. Alec decides to ignore them. It’s for the best if he does so; acknowledging them will only lead to snide remarks and more giggles. His attraction to the explorer is his own concern, not theirs. 

Alec is circling the statue, his mind full of the amazing opportunities this is proving to be, when they hear a noise, and Magnus draws his gun again. Quickly, Izzy draws two other guns from Magnus’ belt and hands one to her sister.

The explorer doesn’t even seem fazed by the actions of the two young women. The only one seemingly scandalized is Alec, who looks at the line his sisters and the adventurer form with their guns drawn. Each of them looks ferocious, and Alec feels relatively useless, but he doesn’t have much time to dwell on it. The noises come back stronger, and there are suddenly more guns in the light, most of them pointed at Magnus. 

\---

Jace and the Americans are there, of course. /To hell with them/, Magnus thinks, and he would almost shoot one of them just to wipe the smug smirks off their faces. Yellow teeth grins and lowers his gun. 

“Jesus, Bane, you scared the hell out of us.” 

They all lower their weapons, and Magnus does as well, the two young women following his lead. Neither of them looks very convinced by the movement, but they are clearly deferring to Magnus for now. It would please him in any other situation; right now he would rather prefer that any of the Lightwoods be out of the line of fire. 

“So did you,” Magnus answers simply, shrugging a bit. 

He can see Jace’s ugly smirk next to the Americans, the way he leers at the Lightwood women. Clary clearly notices as well because she throws the blond a disgusted look. 

“Hey, that’s my toolkit!” The younger looking of the Americans says, and suddenly guns are drawn again. 

Magnus may not have gotten the kit the most legal or honorable way, but he gifted it to Alexander, and he isn’t about to retract that. The absolute wonder and joy written on the young man’s face had been enough to fuel hundreds of dreams. Magnus will kill anyone who tries to take that away from Alexander. Something told him there were very little occasions during which the librarian allowed himself such openness outside of his family, and it stirs something inside the adventurer to know he’s been trusted this way. 

Next to him, Alec moves a protective hand around the toolkit. He looks ferocious suddenly, and Magnus realizes he is nowhere the naive, innocent young man he had thought. There is an edge to him, that speaks of broken noses and bruised knuckles. Alexander really becomes more of a mystery with every passing hour. 

“Okay,” the young American draws out, pushing his compatriots’ guns back. “Maybe I was mistaken!” 

Everyone lowers their gun again, but the tension doesn’t fall. They don’t move. They are at a standstill, and it’s up to either of them to start the hostilities again. The question remains who will? 

“Well, have a good day gentlemen,” Isabelle says in an overtly sweet tone. “I’m sure we’ll see you around.”

“Wait a second,” one of the Americans — Magnus really should keep track of who is who at some point— exclaims, “this is our dig site!” 

“We got here first,” Clary answers, full of spite, and she is the first to draw out her gun again, pointing it straight at Yellow Teeth. 

She clearly has some experience with weapons, which Magnus appreciates, and a lot of spirit, which he has always found particularly interesting in women from the high society. She isn’t really part of that class anymore, he supposes, but she was raised that way. 

“It’s four of you,” Jace says, and Magnus resists the urge to shoot him, “against twenty of us, Bane.” 

“I’ve had worse,” he answers through gritted teeth. 

“And you really aren’t at all that impressive,” Clary defies, and immediately the Americans bristle. Their fragile egos can’t take being taunted by a woman, it seems. 

It’s when one of the men points a gun at his sisters that Alexander reacts and moves in front of them. He looks entirely too peaceful as he walks between the drawn guns. He stops in front of Izzy and makes her lower her gun with a gentle nod, and Clary follows suit. They really have a way of communicating without using their voices that is strangely effective. Magnus has rarely seen siblings closer than they are. 

“If we are to both work in this dig site,” the Englishman turns to the Americans, presenting as unthreateningly as he can, “we must learn to share.” 

It’s when Alexander touches him that Magnus really pays attention, The other man has been so careful to not touch him, to not come too close, and now his hand is on the explorer’s bicep. He presses on it lightly as he catches Magnus’ eyes. 

“There are plenty of other places to dig,” he continues, and understanding dawns on Magnus. 

Alexander has noticed something that could help them. It makes more sense that the theory that he had suddenly decided to abandon his quest. So Magnus also lowers his gun and nods slowly. He’ll trust Alexander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this!! Leave a comment, I love them :D You can also find me on tumblr (@saltytransmalec) ! Thanks for reading !


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding a mummy is not always as expected...

“Those Americans are idiots!” Isabelle declares as she hits the ceiling with Magnus. Her siblings are further apart, both of them looking at a map Clary has drawn from what they have explored of Hamunaptra. 

“That they are, my dear,” Magnus smiles and throws another hit. “Are you two sure this is the right spot?” 

“Yes,” Alec answers, taking notes in his notebook. “We are sure. This will take us right between the legs of Anubis.” 

Clary grins. “Between his legs uh?” 

Izzy laughs with Magnus as Alec rolls his eyes. This is so much more exciting now that they have this rivalry with the Americans. It annoys her a bit that none of them are particularly attractive. She has always fancied herself to be in a tumultuous relationship with someone she shouldn’t love. A bit like her mother and Luke. A forbidden romance, a whirlwind of emotions… Something worth her time. She doesn’t mind all the gentlemen (and sometimes ladies) of Cairo, she can even say that she enjoys their company every so often, but they are rather boring. It seems like her brother will be the one to get that romance. 

She’s happy for Alec, really, but she worries a bit about how he will handle the feelings she can see growing in him. He has never been very good at romance and the few men she had introduced to him had been sent away fast enough. She just wishes for man like Magnus Bane in her own life, even for one night. 

She keeps hitting the ceiling with the explorer, exchanging jokes with him while Clary and Alec keeps working together. When nothing happens after a while, they stop and take a break. 

“So, Isabelle,” Magnus asks as he takes a sip of the water jug he brought before extending it to Clary, who is sitting next to him, “what do you do in Cairo?”

The young woman smiles a bit. Not many people ever asks her this; they assume that, since she is a woman from a good family, she doesn’t do anything else than sit at home and look pretty. 

“I’m studying medicine,” she says, “mostly on my own with books, but I’ve visited local women’s centers throughout the region, and some of the other colonies, and I got to study with some experts in native medicine. It’s a fascinating subject! The women I learned from knew so much and had so much to share. It was definitely a great learning experience. So now, I’m trying to compile all my journals and thoughts into a volume. I do think that we have a lot to learn from it.” 

Magnus smiles and asks her some questions, and she is delighted to answer. She had feared that, due to Magnus and Alec’s involvement, Clary and herself would fall to the side of this expedition. But there is a genuine interest she doesn’t doubt in Magnus’ voice, and her sister speaks up a few times as well. It’s a lively conversation, and even Alec mentions a few things. It would embarrass her, how proud of her he clearly is, but from her earliest memories with him, it was like that. She never understood when her friends would speak of their siblings in a derisive fashion. Izzy loves Alec and Clary, wholeheartedly. They are her best friends, and her most beloved confidants. She doesn’t care if they sometimes argue, if one of them sometimes sulks and pouts. They are linked, by blood for Alec and her, but also by something even deeper, for Clary. They are the Lightwoods-Frays. Like their mother used to say, they break noses and they accept consequences. 

Even later, still nothing is happening, and Magnus and Alec are discussing the process of mummification, something Clary and Isabelle have heard a thousand of times, so they sit apart. 

“Mum and Dad would have loved this,” Clary says in a soft voice, lowering her head on her sister’s shoulder. 

“They would have,” Izzy agrees. 

“Do you think they know we are here?” 

“Oh, they do. You know them, Luke and Maryse Garroway. If they were still alive, they would be right alongside us. But even now, I know that, wherever they are, they know we are in Hamunaptra.” 

“Mum talked of this so much. She was always the most adventurous one,” Clary chuckles. 

“I think Dad had a hard time calming all four of us, including her,” Isabelle laughs as well. “But he loved this too. After all, they met the first time when Mum went hunting with your birth parents in England, and she saw Dad defying the ban and hunting too. And then they reconnected here.” 

“After Dad and I had just journeyed across half the land, yeah.” Clary smiles softly, but her eyes drop a bit to the ground when she speaks again. “I miss them.” 

“So do I,” Isabelle takes her hand and squeezes it. “Everyday, I wish they could still be with us. But we still have each other.”

Clary nods and stays silent after that, and her sister doesn’t disturb that peace. They had lost their parents in an awful accident that had left the three of them orphaned two years ago, and none of them have fully recovered from it. Clary especially. She is the youngest of them, and despite having been an adult for a handful of years at the time of their passing, it had been the most difficult for her. She had already lost one family, and now she was losing another one. 

They all dealt with it in a different manner. Alec had decided to become more serious, more of the young man he was expected to be rather than the funny, sweet man he had been on his way to becoming before. He had never been exactly charming or empathic, but when their parents had been around, he hadn’t forced himself to be reasonable and to be the leader of the family. He had been Alec, simply Alec, who loved history and books, who could spend hours talking with Dad about the world or with Mom talking about history. Now, he is more often than not Alexander Lightwood, young man of great standing. Although, this adventure certainly changed that. 

Izzy, for herself, had left her studies for a bit. She had started with their father, after all, and for a while it had been too difficult for her to walk into the office where they had discussed her studies and travels. She couldn’t bear the emptiness of their house then either, it had been too much. She had wanted to destroy everything. It was then that she had taken some fighting lessons, very discreetly of course, and when she had learned how to shoot properly, it had made her feel closer to her mother. She would never forget Luke’s tales of her hunting, or her pride when she recounted how she had defended her campsite when she had travelled with a few girls from her college. Maryse Trueblood, married Lightwood and then remarried Garroway, had been a force of nature, and Izzy strives to be like her in many ways. 

Clary had just avoided the house for weeks on end, only coming back when either Alec or Izzy found her, or when she had to by necessity, because she needed more money. She had distanced herself from them thoroughly, and only after three months had she stayed at the house for longer than a night. Izzy remembers finding her in the master bedroom, crying on the still perfectly made bed, draped in one of Luke’s thick leather coat he had brought back from a trip to Canada, and clutching Maryse’s favorite pearls. Izzy had sat with her, and they had both cried until Alec had found them. It was a difficult night, but it had brought them closer again.

Izzy is just about to speak again when there is a loud noise, a crack in the ceiling, and something drops in the middle of the room. 

“What the hell?” She exclaims as she steps back with a startled Clary. 

“Is that a sarcophagus?” The redhead wonders, walking closer slowly, almost as if she is afraid that it will start moving. 

On the other side of the room, Magnus has placed a protective arm in front of Alec and moved half in front of him to protect him. But there is no need for that, Izzy smiles softly to herself. Her brother pushes the hand away gently before rushing to what really appears to be a sarcophagus. 

“It is,” Alec marvels, “It was buried at the base of Anubis. It must have been someone of great importance.” 

“Or someone who did something very naughty,” Izzy adds as she walks closer. She isn’t as fond of Egyptian history as her siblings, but she knows some things still. 

“Or that,” Alec nods. “Nonetheless, fascinating.” 

Izzy can’t help but agree. If there is something she knows about Hamunaptra, it’s that it’s already fulfilling its promises of adventure and intrigue. 

\---

The sarcophagus is beautiful and was clearly made for someone very important. It’s a deep black color with hieroglyphics imbedded within the stone, but the ones that would typically mark the name of the person entombed has been destroyed, and there is a strangely star shaped dip in the middle. 

“So, what is it?” Magnus’ voice startles Alec from his observation. “Is it a pharaoh? A son of a pharaoh? A bastard?” 

Alec rolls his eyes at the adventurer as he lists multiple other propositions, clearly highly amused by himself. He is close, leaning over Alec’s shoulder as he looks at the sarcophagus as well, and his breath tickles the librarian’s neck. He knows he should try and push him away, but Alec craves that closeness with the man. The memory of his arms earlier, of his firm torso and the line of his body against Alec’s back… He wants it, again and again and again. So he allows the closeness, allows himself a moment of weakness during which he enjoys a man’s presence. 

“I don’t know,” Alec answers finally, when he comes back to his senses. He doesn’t move away still. “The name has been erased.” 

“So, someone very naughty then?” Magnus grins next to Alec, and the Englishman turns to give him a flat look. 

They are so close. Alec’s eyes flicker to the man’s mouth. It’s so tempting to just lean in, to taste those lips again and give in to the desire… But no. He clears his throat and looks away, meeting Izzy’s smug look as he does so. His sisters are both watching him with a grin and he doesn’t trust them when they get like this. One of them will undoubtedly say something embarrassing for him. 

So instead he turns back to the star shaped hole and stares at it. 

“Looks like you need a key right there,” Magnus says, poking at where Alec is looking. 

“A key,” Alec repeats, frowning. Why does this shape feels so familiar? What is there about this and a key that keeps bothering him and tugging at his brain? 

“The puzzle!” Izzy’s shout startles her siblings and Magnus, and it’s then that Alec realizes what she means. The box his sisters had brought him, the box that had started this whole adventure, opened up in a star. 

Madly, the three Lightwoods rush to Clary’s bag, where they know she stored the item, and they carelessly toss the contents to the ground, looking for the box. Behind them, Magnus makes a confused sound, and he only reacts when Alec lifts the box with a triumphal expression. 

“Hey, that’s mine!” The explorer exclaims, but he is swiftly ignored by the Lightwoods. 

“We have to put it standing,” Alec says to his siblings, and the two women nod in unison. 

Alec is fully ready to do this with just the two of them, but Magnus rolls his eyes and helps them. With a lot of effort, they manage to put the sarcophagus against one of the walls of the strange room they are in. It’s not perfectly straight against the wall, but it will be much easier to access for them as they study it this way. 

After this, Alec twists it carefully and swiftly, his hands remembering the movements he had needed to open it the first time. The parchment is no longer in it, but it still opens into a star shape that matches perfectly the one on the sarcophagus. He puts it inside the hole and a thrill runs through him as it goes in perfectly. They found the key. Slowly, he twists it, back and forth a few times, until he hears a lock opening, and he exchanges a thrilled look with Magnus and his sisters. 

They remove the key carefully and Izzy puts it back in Clary’s bag while Alec and Magnus lifts the covering stone away, revealing the remains underneath. Horrified gasps escapes the mouths of all four people in the room. 

The mummy, rather than being a skeleton neatly wrapped into bandages and ointments, is still covered in blood and some flesh threatening to fall off its skeleton. The mouth is open in an eternized scream and there is something haunting about the way the eye sockets are still covered in flesh. This mummy looks like it was buried a few years before, rather than many centuries ago. 

“Are they always so… gummy?” Magnus asks, and he is by far the one who looks the most disgusted.

Alec would be amused, but he is so thoroughly shaken by the discovery that he can’t even find it in himself to see some humor in the situation. This is the first mummy he discovers, the first mummy he ever finds, and he has to fall on the one that looks like charred meat in the middle of the desert. 

“No,” he answers Magnus’ question. “That is a singularity I had never heard of before.” 

“Then it really is turning out like the adventure you three were looking for, isn’t it?” 

Alec can’t deny the explorer has a point there. The trip to Hamunaptra had been enough of a hardship, but this really is making the journey look like a pleasant walk on the Nile’s banks. He can’t take his eyes off the mummy. He will learn all of its secrets, he’s sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed it :) Leave a kudos or comment!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attack occurs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! 
> 
> You'll notice that the chapter is shorter this time around, and it'll probably stay that way for a little bit. I don't want to go on hiatus, but I can't keep up with 2k a week for this fic, 5k for my other one, and all my irl stuff. Unfortunately, since I want to prioritize my other fic, it means this one will be on the backburner for a little bit. I'll be free for a few weeks in december though, so I'll do my best to write as much as I can on this as well, since I would like to have it finished before 2020!  
The chapters will probably be around 1k for a few weeks, but I'll still be posting. I hope it's not too much a bother! 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

That evening, the three Lightwoods huddle around the fire Magnus has built a bit away from the Americans’ camp, and they all talk about their discovery. It amuses the explorer slightly, how the three siblings are so clearly excited and fascinated, yet how they had managed to fool him for a few hours at the beginning of the trip into thinking that they were proper ladies and gentleman. They could be, he has no doubt of that, but they are so much more fascinating when they are not.

“And it fell from Anubis’ statue! Which means it has something to do with the Underworld, or the dead rites!” 

“You think we could figure out who it is?” Isabelle asks her brother as Clary eats a bit. 

“Probably? It would be easier if we could dig elsewhere but…” 

In unison, they turn to throw a dirty look to the Americans. It’s so deeply entertaining Magnus can’t stop his laughter. They are so adorably in synch, so well attuned to one another. He doesn’t mean to mock them, but it is quite a funny sight. The Lightwoods look at him them, and he has to explain to them why he has been laughing. He knows what their reaction will be before he even finishes his sentence. 

Clary, as he had predicted, laughs slightly and jostles with her shoulder her brother while she agrees with Magnus. Isabelle mirrors her sister, but she stays huddled against Alexander. And the man only shakes his head and looks away, but there is a fondness behind it that Magnus doesn’t miss. 

In the last few days, Alexander has relaxed in Magnus’ presence, and there are even times when he really engages with Magnus. The explorer thinks back to when he had been holding him in his arms earlier in the day, and that will definitely go into the pantheon of Magnus’ memories. The Englishman hadn’t attempted to remove himself from his arms, he had just asked for him to move away. This adventure is just a giant game of cat and mouse, and Magnus doesn’t know anymore which one he is. 

He has been so effortlessly enraptured by Alexander’s warmth with his sisters, his passion for history and archeology, and by his wit and intelligence, he has forgotten his usual rule of not getting involved with people for more than one night. He can see himself spending days and days with Alexander, basking in his warmth. 

A yell resonates in the distance, and they all look from where it came. Approaching the camp rapidly on galloping horses, one of the nomadic people who wanders around this part of the desert is charging towards them.

\---

Groaning loudly, Clary gets up and grabs the nearest thing she can hold on to. She has a splitting headache from all the guns that had just been fired, and all the shouting and yelling, and some from the falling down on the sand covered ground like an idiot. She is fairly certain there is some sand that sneaked in her pants, and she is not looking forward to discovering whether she is right or not. 

The attack has been flashy and fast, and they have been outmatched easily. On their horses, the riders are stronger and more agile than anyone on the ground. Still, Clary attempted to fight back and she had stolen, well borrowed, a few guns from the Americans more than once to shoot. 

“Enough,” a voice resonates just now, and this is when Clary realizes the invaders have not yet left. “We will not shed any more blood today.” 

The person speaking is a woman, from what Clary can see, and she is beautiful. Her skin is dark and her eyes have a strange green shine in the light of the campfires. She stands on her horse proudly, a blade sitting unsheathed on her knees, and Clary knows that this woman is the one she will want for the next few months. There is something about her that screams mystery and perfection, and Clary is desperate to find out more. It has always been one of her biggest flaws, her insatiable curiosity. 

“You have until the morning to leave Hamunaptra, or evil will fall upon you,” the stranger says, and she is as enchanting as she is threatening as she puts her curved sword back in its sheath. Her fingers are so long, and they wrap around the handle of the sword so easily… Clary needs to stop staring at the woman this way, it is getting slightly creepy. 

“Leave this place or die.” She finishes her sentence with such strength that Clary is fully ready to believe that this is not a threat but a prophecy.

Without any flourish, the riders leave the camp as one, and they disappear in the rising darkness of the night. She is shaking slightly, Clary sees as she walks back towards her family. She hadn’t envisioned that it would be quite so adventurous. She doesn’t regret this, but she is starting to wonder whether it was the right thing to do or not. She is worried that they are getting much more than they thought they would. 

She hugs herself close to Alec, who wraps an arm around her reassuringly, and she sighs. What will become of them now? Will they stay here, or will they leave, when they are so close to the goal? Clary doesn’t want to give up, but she also doesn’t fancy dying anytime soon. She plans on staying alive a fair deal longer. Plus there is the matter of the gummy mummy… 

“For them to protect it like this,” an American starts — and Clary believes he might be called Henderson? —, “you just know there’s gotta be some treasure buried under all this sand.” 

“That doesn’t make sense,” Magnus frowns, and it’s only now that Clary sees the adventurer has a hand in Alec’s. What happened while she was on the ground? “These are desert people. They don’t care about gold. They value water above anything else.”

“Where’s Izzy?” Clary asks, and Alec throws a worried glance around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Don't hesitate to leave a comment!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabelle and Meliorn meets, spark flies...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello folks! 
> 
> I come bearing sad news. A Curse Upon Your Name is going into hiatus, until mid December. On top of uni and work making my life hard, and my decision to prioritize my other fic, I've been feeling down related to this fic lately. I've gotten very few comments on the latest chapters (None on the last), and while every hits and kudos brings me joy, I'll admit that seeing no comments makes me rather sad. Reading comments, even if it's just a few words, always lights up my day, and makes the writing easier.   
I am NOT abandoning this fic however. I want to take a little time away from it, to relax and get back to a positive relation with it, and to also build up some back up.   
Every comments and kudos up until now has really lightened up my life, and I thank all of you readers for it <3 
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter :)

Isabelle is, unlike what her siblings are thinking, absolutely enjoying herself. She took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the American’s camp and found a few cases of alcohol, and she has been picking through it until she finds something she likes. Those men sure like their whiskeys, but they really have no taste in it. There is mostly cheap bottles that she wouldn’t even drink at a low brow bar in the darker districts of Cairo. She keeps digging through the cases with hope, fervently wishing that at least one of them has good taste and brought his own bottle of good alcohol. It takes her a few minutes, and she can hear that someone is speaking loudly, but she manages to find one good bottle of brandy. Sneaking out of the tent, she starts making her way back to her siblings.

She is just rounding a large column halfway buried under the sand when a curved blade finds its way against her throat. She doesn’t let go of the bottle, and she isn’t afraid, but she has what she would call a reasonable amount of worried. Looking up, she finds a svelte man with brown skin and piercing eyes. He has markings over his cheeks, and a turban is wrapped around his head. He is gorgeous. 

“You should not wander around Hamunaptra alone,” the man says as he removes his sword. 

“Is that because I’m a woman,” Izzy answers as she crosses her arms, looking at him defiantly, “or because you just attacked the camp?” 

He chuckles, and she likes the sound of it. She wonders what other noises she could have him make. 

“Simply because no one should be here, whether man, woman, or neither. Hamunaptra is not safe, and especially not for someone alone.”

“And yet, here you are.” 

He grins a bit. “You are smarter than most people who come here. What brought you to Hamunaptra?” 

“Why do you want to know?” 

She’s a bit wary of him, but she likes his smile and the way he, despite having just attacked the camp, seems confident that everything is fine. She can hear the Americans returning to their camp slowly, but her attention is fully concentrated on him. 

“Perhaps I’m simply curious.” 

“Curiosity has a goal, doesn’t it?” She smiles and walks closer to him. “So what’s your goal?” 

“You are smart,” he smiles back and lets her walk closer. 

“I am. Now are you going to answer?” 

“If you answer, I will.” 

“Oh, a deal,” she teases, “you’re smart too.” 

She is still holding the bottle of liquor and it’s getting slightly heavy in her right hand, so she switches it to her left hand. The movement catches the man unaware, but he doesn’t startle, and he doesn’t draw his weapon again, although his hand is placed on the handle of it. She smirks. He is nervous here. 

“My brother wanted to find a book, and I wanted an adventure. We don’t care for the treasure.” 

He nods at her, thanking her for the answer. “I ward people away from Hamunaptra.” 

“So you intend to scare me away?” She is closer to him now, almost chest to chest, and he looks at her intensely. 

She wants some fun, something that sends the blood in her veins thrilling in pleasure and amusement. She likes adventures and going around the country with her siblings, but she likes the pleasure of the bodies more. That’s something many of her previous conquests have reproached her. She doesn’t care much about romance and love, not the way Clary and Alec cares. She likes to feel someone, she likes the attention that comes with sex and the way she connects with people like that. She doesn’t need romance thrown into the mix. 

“I think,” he says softly as he lowers himself to her level slightly, towering over her, “that I would rather keep you all to myself.” 

His answer delights her. She walks backward and he follows her closely. She put the bottle on the ground as her back hits the column, and then she looks back up. She knows the shirt she is wearing his exposing parts of her body right now; she hadn’t taken the time to button it up properly when her siblings had bolted towards the fight. Izzy has never had any time for self-degradation. She has always known she is beautiful, that men want to fuck her and make her theirs. She knows some women want the same thing, or that they want to be her. It’s thrilling. When their attraction is unwarranted, she has never a problem with letting them know, but right now, the way the strange man’s eyes trail over her body, she loves it. 

“Oh, is that so? And how would you do that then?” Her voice is lower now, whispered against his lips as he brings his face closer to her. 

“I think I have a few ideas,” he says confidently as he puts his arms on each side of her body. 

He’s muscular despite his relatively svelte stature, and as his hands start to explore her body, Izzy shivers. 

“What name should I call you,” she asks as he teases her neck with his teeth and she keeps a few breathy moans to herself. 

“My people call me Meliorn,” he whispers in her ear as his hands caresses her breasts and she can feel his clothed erection against her leg. 

“I’m Isabelle,” she only has the time to say before he captures her lips in a searing kiss. 

“Isabelle, what a lovely name.” He kneels and she watches him as he undoes her pants, and she grins. 

When his fingers caress her and his lips join in a few seconds later, she moans without any shame. Tonight is really looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you did not read the beginning notes, this will be the last chapter until mid-December. I am going on hiatus for this fic until then, and I've explained my reasons above. I hope you enjoyed the chapter ! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An almost kiss, a book, and two clueless men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Have a long chapter to celebrate!! 
> 
> I'm really happy to be back to writing for this fic, and especially to be back to posting. All your kind messages last time were extremely appreciated, and they definitely helped me get back on track ! I rewatched the movie with a friend who had never seen it, and it also helped me see it in a new light, which was definitely what I needed. I want to finish writing this before 2020 begins, but I might be a tad too ambitious. 
> 
> I really hope you'll love this chapter :) It was such fun to write it!

Alec is the one to find Izzy, sitting back in their own camp and drinking from a bottle of whiskey. She looks… disheveled. There is a glow about her, something that makes her seem lighter than before. He calls to Magnus and Clary, who run back towards the camp a few seconds later. They had all been equally worried, but it seems they had no reason to. 

“Where did you find this?” He sits down next to his sister, who extends the bottle to him. 

She grins as he takes a swig, shrugging. “I went on a little adventure on the American’s side, and found this little treasure of my own.” 

“And that’s what got you all smiling and happy?” Clary asks as she sits up next to her sister, stealing the bottle from Alec as he is taking another sip. It is quite the tasty whiskey. 

“Oh no, that would be from the lovely gentleman with whom I released some tension.” 

“Isabelle!” 

“With one of the Americans?”

Alec’s reprimand happens at the same time as Clary’s disgusted exclamation. Across the fire, Magnus starts laughing, and that briefly distracts Alec, who stares at the golden-skinned man and his pearly laugh. Such a beautiful sound for such a charming man... it should be forbidden. 

“No,” Izzy answers when she is done giggling, “one of the other men, the desert people! He was very handsome! And very skilled.” 

She giggles again and Alec mimics gagging, disgusted with the knowledge. He steals the bottle back from his sisters and takes a few rapid gulps, wanting to forget as much as he can from the conversation as the two women starts exchanging details. 

He goes across the campfire to sit next to a surprised Magnus and extends the bottle to him. “Might as well share in my misery.” 

Magnus laughs again, and Alec smiles. The man really is beautiful. 

They drink and chat and Alec laughs more and more, until he can safely say he is fairly drunk. 

“I don’t get you,” Magnus admits after another gulp of whiskey. There isn’t much left in the bottle and, across the fire, Clary and Izzy are asleep, curled up together. 

“What is there not to get?” Alec asks, and he is dangerously close to Magnus now, grinning a bit. The alcohol is warm in his body, and he wants to touch and be touched by Magnus; he wants those lips back on his own. Alec wants so much it makes him forget everything else. 

“I get your sisters,” Magnus cuts in Alec’s drunken reverie, “they want to escape a society that restricts them, and they love you. Each of them wants an adventure of their own, and the danger excites them. But you? I don’t get at all.” 

The admission feels raw and a bit painful, and it hurts Alec a bit. He doesn’t know if he’s disappointed simply because this could mean that Magnus isn’t that curious about him, or that he is hurt the adventurer seems to pay more attention to his sisters than to him. Alec is just drunk enough to admit to himself that he is jealous of his own sisters, who have no interest in Magnus. It makes his head ache a bit.

“Well, my parents — well, my mother and my stepfather— were adventurers, you see?” Alec takes back the bottle, ignoring the fire that starts in his hand as it encloses over Magnus’. He yanks the bottle away and takes a long drink. “My mother wanted to discover the whole world, and she couldn’t do that because of us, but Luke took her on trips all over the country. And then it was all so wonderful, because we got to go with them when we were older.” 

Magnus looks attentive to his tale, and he feels a bit smug at that. “Luke was a very well educated man, and he taught Izzy and Clary all the things their tutors didn’t deem proper, and our mother would talk to us about everything and anything history. I loved her stories.” 

“Okay, so I get your parents,” Magnus says, “but that still doesn’t tell me why you came to find me and bargained with the guardian to get me out, and then embarked on this crazy adventure.” 

Alec sighs and leans his head on Magnus’ shoulder. He is tired, and the man is so sweet. “I know I should be proud of being a librarian, and I am! I love books, and I love the Museum, but I want more.” He sighs heavily, and Magnus shakes with silent giggles. “I am an archeologist at heart! I want to discover things and… and stuff!” 

His speech is getting a bit slurred by how tired he is, but he still manages to look up. He really is exhausted. His eyes stop on Magnus’ smiling lips, and his mind plays, over and over, the kiss that Magnus had taken from his lips. 

“I’m going to kiss you, Mister Bane,” he says and leans in. 

He is pleased to see that Magnus sits up a bit to attention at this, and a warmth overtakes him at the slow grin on the other man’s lips. 

“Call me Magnus, Alexander.” 

“Magnus. I’m going to kiss you, Magnus.” Alec leans in again, and he is only a few short centimeters away when a wave of tiredness hits him. He falls against the explorer’s chest and sleeps overtakes him quickly as he settles more comfortably. 

\---

Magnus can’t forget Alec almost kissing him the previous night. He can’t get the image out of his head, the way he had leant in, looking so intent… He isn’t disappointed that the kiss didn’t happen; Alexander was drunk, after all, and it’s better that they both be fully conscious and aware of their actions if anything is to happen between them. When Magnus had stolen that kiss at the prison, he had truly believed he was going to die, that the end was coming for him. Now… Now, he wishes that a kiss, a caress, anything, could happen between Alexander and him, without either of them being drunk or on the edge of dying. 

“Magnus, are you coming?” Isabelle’s voice snaps him out of his day dreams. 

Jumping after the woman down the hole in the ground, Magnus looks around. The room hasn’t changed since yesterday, which shouldn’t surprise him, but still. There is something about Hamunaptra that makes him uneasy. He wants to be gone again from this place. It feels cursed, it’s the only thing that he can really say for sure. 

He follows the Lightwoods back to the mummy, which is still as disgusting as it had been the previous day. Magnus almost expects for it to start bleeding out again, for the empty eye sockets to look around in search of something. He’s just scaring himself at this point, and nothing good ever comes from that. 

“Anything new about our interesting friend?” His conversationalist tone does nothing to convey his weariness of the place, and for that he is thankful. He would hate for Alexander to know that the sight of the decomposing body makes him queasy.

“Nothing that I can see for now,” Alexander answers, “But we haven’t looked properly at everything just yet, and the day has only begun! There is a lot we can still do.” 

The young man flashes Magnus a small smile and the adventurer hates how effective that is on him. There hasn’t been many people who truly have had that much of an effect on him, especially in recent years. 

“Anything I can do to help?”

This is how Magnus ends up working with the Lightwoods all day, decrypting the secrets of the mummy based on the unbroken hieroglyphs that ornate the casket. He doesn’t know much about hieroglyphs, but he is charged with copying back everything in English while Alec and his sisters decodes it. They are all intelligent and fascinating, and once more Magnus is glad the three found him. 

In the evening, they sit around their campfire, which has been moved closer to the Americans’ after last night’s… encounter. Magnus and Alexander are just walking back after getting their containers full of water when they see the Egyptologist trying to open a large black book. His companion seems to take an interest about it, and he approaches the man, but the other only looks at him with contempt and disgusting. 

“You need a key to open that,” Alec says haughtily after the reaction of the man, and he takes Magnus’ arm, dragging him away quickly. 

Magnus would let Alexander lead him to the end of the world, that’s a certainty. He feels so much already for the man, but he isn’t sure how much the librarian feels for him. He knows there is mutual attraction, that bit is undeniable, but is it purely physical for the Englishman? Or is there something in him that calls more deeply to Magnus, that yearns for his touch and for any tenderness that could be shown towards him by the subject of his affection? 

“A key,” he questions Alec as they walk away, “the same key as the one you have?” 

“It looked like it. I can’t believe they found the book before we did,” the man pouts a bit, startlingly looking like Isabelle in that instant. Even Clary takes after them in the mannerisms. “Those savage Americans don’t deserve to have it.” 

“You think it might be the Book of Life?” 

“It didn’t look like it. I think it might be the Book of Death...” 

“It would indeed be quite a shame if they were to keep that book… Though, I suppose they can’t do much more than show it off without the key.” 

“Exactly.” Alexander looks smug as he says this, and Magnus has to admit it’s quite a good look on him. Damn the man and his perfect face.

Magnus is half asleep when he hears something moving. He cracks an eye open, seeing Alexander moving towards the Americans’ camp. A bit puzzled, he follows the man’s trajectory with his eyes, not daring to surprise him. Alec is taking the book from the grasp of the Egyptologist. 

“It’s not nice to steal,” he says quietly when Alexander comes back. 

“According to my sisters, it’s not stealing if you’re going to have a better use of it than the original owner…” 

The man is looking through the backpacks, looking for the key. Magnus has to admit that the Lightwood women’s philosophy is particularly sound, especially in the case of this book. He sits up and comes to sit next to Alexander as he starts to unlock the book. When the first page flips open, there is a rush of wind that blows away some of embers, the sparks of fire dying quickly in the sand. 

“Are you sure this thing is safe?” 

“No harm ever came from reading a book,” Alexander waves his worries away with a short hand movement. 

“What does it says then?” 

Alexander focuses on the hieroglyphs for a few seconds, and then he starts reading them, adding the translation every few lines. It’s not a very long sentence, but Magnus doesn’t remember much of it. He’s too focused on the way Alec speaks the foreign syllables, the way his tongue darts out to wet his pink lips every few seconds. He’s nearing the end of the incantation, because it does appear to be some sort of spell, when a voice rings out behind them. 

“No! You must not read from the book!” 

It’s the Egyptologist, who sat up on his coat, and looks completely panicked. His scream wakes up most of the nearby sleeping people. At the same time, the sand underneath them rumbles and shakes, and the wind starts to pick up as a distant, muffled roar is heard. 

“You’ve doomed us all,” the Egyptologist says quietly, but in the silence that follows the unnatural noise, his voice rings loud with accusation. 

Magnus feels his blood boil with anticipation, and next to him Alec is pale with fear. What just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to comment :D I'll be back next Sunday with a new chapter :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mummy awakens, and our heroes run through some ruins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a new chapter!! I almost forgot because of shopping for the holidays and being overtaken by needy kittens, but it's here, nearly on time!
> 
> This chapter has some graphic description of blood and torture so be careful with that! 
> 
> To all those who celebrate it: Happy Hanukkah! Tonight was the first celebration in my hometown and it was lovely :)

Lilith’s eyes fly open. Someone brought her back, but who is it? She can’t see anything. Her body hasn’t been reformed, her eyes are still empty sockets and she can feel the torn flesh of her rotten corpse as she moves from her imprisoning sarcophagus. She can’t see, but she can still sense the air, feel the space around her. She hears the shouts and screams of men in the hallway of Hamunaptra. They are the ones who have her youth and beauty in their hands. One of them woke her up, and he holds her everything in her hand. She’ll take it back, and then her son will rise again, and they will rule over the mortals of this new realm.

She steps out of her sarcophagus and smells the air. It smells of panic and fear. She grins, unveiling crooked, rotten teeth, and the golden necklace across her chest clinks against her exposed bones as she follows the heavy scent. She is hungry, and she needs eyes. She needs to see the world again, to decide who will be the sacrifice for the rebirth of her son. It has to be someone worthy of her son’s soul, someone she can mold to fit him. Her hunt can begin. 

\---

Alec is lost. He had been running with his sisters and Magnus through Hamunaptra, trying to find somewhere safe to hide until the storm from above ceased and the screams of dying men stopped sounding in their ears. 

After he had read the incantation, the ground had started shaking and the winds had started shaking roughly their pitched tents. The sands had flown off all around them, getting in their eyes and mouth, threatening to suffocate them, until Izzy had tugged them towards the ruins quickly. Everyone had followed suits, but some of the Americans’ men had been trapped outside when their employers had closed the door right after themselves.

The scarabs had come then, and Alec had been separated from his sisters as he had pushed them to safety, and Magnus had hopped to a platform just behind them. Alec only had had time to retreat back to a side corridor, and as he had leaned on the wall, it had opened behind him and he had fallen into a small room, filled with sand and carvings. Which is why he is lost. 

He is trying to find his way out, and he finally stumbles upon a room where moonlight shines in the middle. He sighs of relief. He dislikes having to find his way through his hands through the dark, it’s quite an incapacitating experience. He takes a few seconds to get adjusted to the light in the room and breathes more easily. Now, he only has to find back his sisters and Magnus, and they can leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

A rugged breath catches his attention and he squints beyond the pale light, to see one of the Americans, the youngest if he is correct, apparently aimlessly wandering. Can he not see the light, Alec wonders. Despite the hostility that ran between their camps, Alec calls out to him. He is, after all, a known face. 

“Hey there, are you alright?” 

Slowly, the man turns to him and starts walking towards him, moaning the whole time. It’s only when he is in the moonlight fully that Alec sees the gaping wide eye socket with blood rushing down the cheeks in a steady pour, and the open mouth, where there is no longer a tongue, but rather a large, empty spot. It’s a truly horrifying sight, but Alec doesn’t have the time to be horrified by it for more than a few instants. 

On his right is advancing the mummy he had discovered the day before. It — She? — doesn’t have blood and chair sticking to itself anymore, and its empty eye sockets are now filled with the same eyes he can tell it tore away from the American. It speaks, in ancient Egyptian, which he would usually be able to understand, but he is too paralyzed by fear and the desire to step as far away from the mummy as he can to focus on the word right now. 

“There you are,” comes Magnus Bane’s voice on his left. 

He has never been quite so happy to hear another person’s voice, and he clutches Bane’s arm when the adventurer, who doesn’t seem to have noticed the mummy, comes closer to him. 

“We were worried sick about you,” Magnus says vehemently, and when Alec doesn’t answer or even look at him, he turns his eyes to what is capturing the English man’s attention. 

The mummy yells out a roar.

\---

Magnus looks at the yelling, spitting mummy, and holds his gun quite tightly, before loading it and shooting at it as he yells right back. It’s scary, yes, but it’s not the absolute scariest situation he has been in. Although, it’s definitely fighting for the first place right now. 

His bullets send the mummy flying backwards ever so slightly. He takes this short advantage to grab Alexander’s hand, property be damned, and drag him away by the passage he came through, where the two other Lightwood-Fray are waiting with a scared expression. He breaks up the hug that is threatening to form between the siblings. 

“We don’t have time for that, when we are out of this damned place you may hug all you want, but right now, we gotta move!”

His words aren’t disputed and he rans back towards the exit, or as much towards it as he can. 

Ten minutes later, he has to admit to himself that they are lost. At least, the mummy isn’t following them anymore, but he will only feel better when they are as far away from those ruins as possible.

“Where do we go from here?” Alexander’s question is innocent, but it still reads a bit accusatory to Magnus. After all, the other man is the one who actually woke up a mommy. Shouldn’t he be the one who has a plan, rather than Magnus? 

“I don’t—“ 

He is cut off by a deep voice he hasn’t heard before, but which makes Isabelle straighten and grin slightly at the edge of his field of vision. 

“Now, you follow me, strangers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment, I really love them to no end!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape, and a meeting with the mummy for Jace...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo 
> 
> Hope your holidays, if you celebrate anything, are going well :) Here is a short chapter to close up with Hamunaptra... Enjoy!!

Magnus breathes easier now that they are out. The Americans are struggling to gather all together, one of them holding up the wounded one. His eyes are bloodied and empty, and his mouth is hanging open, showing his cut up tongue. It’s revolting, truly, and Magnus tries not to puke when he sees that. It’s horrifying. 

“Don’t look,” Alexander whispers in his ear, his hand still holding tight onto Magnus’. Not that he is complaining at all. 

“It’s a bit difficult not to." 

“Well, try looking at something else, I’m sure you’re excellent at this.” 

Magnus glowers at the handsome librarian, but the smile on the man’s face isn’t genuine. He is still afraid, and he lets go of Magnus’ hand to draw a panting Clary against himself. The young woman is startled, and afraid like her brother. Only Isabelle seems to be alright, talking with the man who rescued them. 

“We warned you not to stay," the woman from the previous night says, coming down from her horse with a wide array of guns. “You did not listen, and now, see what you’ve brought upon the world. You’ve unleashed powers you can’t even begin to understand.” 

“I got it,” Magnus says semi-confidently. “It won’t be coming back right away.”

“No mortal weapons can touch her! You’ve only angered her further.” The woman cocks her gun and glares at him. “You were the one that woke her up, but now it’s our turn to put her back.” 

Her anger is reasonable, considering the way they are all getting armed up and walking back to the ruins. Oh, and the mummy inside too. 

“Technically, I’m the one who did it,” Alexander says quietly, and the woman looks at him now, critical. 

“Of course it is you. Which one are you, treasure hunter or Egyptologist then?” 

“He’s a librarian,” comes the defensive answer of Magnus, Clary and Isabelle, all offended on behalf of Alec, who shakes his head. 

“I didn’t know anything about the curse,” the Englishman says. “Had I known, I would never… Is there anything we can do to help?” 

“There is nothing you can do, strangers.” The woman turns away definitively now, and she walks to the entrance of the ruins, only stopping when she is halfway through the doorway, turning back to them. “Go back where you came from, and pray all the gods you do not die.” 

\---

Jace is running through the maze of those ruins, completely lost. He had been with the Americans a bit before, looking for a way out, but then he had heard the roar of the monster, and he had fled away from them. He isn’t going to be dying here, no matter what. He has escaped other situations, some as completely mad as this one. He has escaped Hamunaptra once, and he’ll do it again. 

He steps inside a room that has a lit torch, and he sighs of relief as he recognizes it. It’s the bottom of Anubis’ statue, where the Americans found the chest. He is glad he had gotten away from it before they had opened it; he can feel that, whatever would have happened, it wouldn’t have ended well for him if he had been there. 

Sighing of relief, he sinks against one of the walls, catching his breath. He’ll be safe here, right? The monster won’t be looking here for this place. He can take a breather before he has to go back outside. He knows the way from here back to the camp, and then from the camp back to the cities. 

His blood freezes when there is a low growl, not unlike the one of an animal about to attack, right behind him, and he tries not to shake too badly when he turns around. 

The mummy, strong figure wrapped in bloodied bandages with newly added eyes and tongue, is walking eagerly towards him. It’s truly a disgusting sight. Jace can see various scarabs running around within the mummy’s ribcage, and he sees some all around her. He tries to sink even further within the wall, but the stone doesn’t allow him to. He can’t run, can’t move, can barely breathe. He is trapped by the angry gaze of the monster opposing him. 

Its mouth opens and strange sounds come out of it. It takes a few seconds for Jace to realize it is speaking Ancient Egyptian, one of many dialects, and he is thankful for his own insistence he learnt it when he was younger, and still dreamt of being an archeologist. He doesn’t understand everything the mummy is saying, but he understands when it extends the gold to him. 

She introduces herself as Queen Lilith, and he kneels, the gold coins held tight in his hands. 

“_I will need a servant_,“ she croaks out, her voice terrible and making him shake slightly again.

He nods eagerly anyway. “_Anything for you, my Queen,_“ he answers clumsily, but she seems pleased. 

Jace pockets the money quietly as he follows her lead out of the ruins. As long as he gets more gold, he’ll do anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment :D I love them very much and reading y'all's thoughts and opinions on what's going on is always a highlight of my day :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec remains stubborn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops with life starting again after my vacations I almost forgot to post this chapter ! 
> 
> It's a short one, but I have an excuse: I'm working on finishing this fic so that I can have bigger chapters after! 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it :)

“I am not,” Alec insists on the word as he tosses his clothes out of his luggage, “leaving Cairo or Egypt! This is my home and—“ 

“And you unleashed a monstrous beast that is out to kill us all,” Magnus answers, putting the books in the luggage. “You are leaving with your sisters. When I took this job on, I agreed to take you to and back from Hamunaptra safely!” 

Alec glares at the other man. They’ve already been arguing for the better part of an hour. Magnus is insistent that they all leave the country, but Alec is as stubborn as the other man and he wants to stay. 

“So this is just a job to you?” 

It’s a cheap blow, and it pays off when Magnus flounders, looking astonished at the response Alec came up with. It’s not Alec’s finest moment, far from it, but he’ll do whatever it takes to stay in Egypt. He has his home here, his work. Everything he has ever loved is here. His mother and stepfather are buried here! He is not leaving.

He also feels slightly responsible for the mummy’s awakening. He should have been more careful. But how was he supposed to know this wasn’t just another myth? Hamunaptra wasn’t even supposed to exist in the first place. It’s ridiculous that he unleashed a curse. If he hadn’t seen the mummy with his own eyes he wouldn’t have believed it. He is still half hoping that this is all a bad dream and he’ll wake up from it. 

Hopefully, Bane isn’t a bad dream. The man’s frustrated look is quite frankly adorable, and Alec contains his urge to smile slightly at the huff of annoyance the adventurer lets out. 

“Listen, those people in the desert said they were taking care of it, there is no point in staying!” 

“If they are taking care of it, there is no point in running away.” Alec crosses his arms and ignores the cat wandering around his ankles. There are always cats around Cairo, wandering through the city and being fed by anyone kind enough. He isn’t the biggest cat person, but they always make sure to leave a bowl or two of food for the strays around their property. 

“What about survival?”

“The creature is in Hamunaptra, a good hundred miles away from here. I’m sure you’ll be safe.” 

“I’m not worried about my safety, Alexander!”

Alec looks at him and frowns. If not that then what? It can’t be because the explorer wants to make sure they are safe. After all, he has said that this was a job, and he had told Alec when they were on the boat that the kiss was merely a joke. Alec can’t believe that the man would have changed his opinions quite so much in so little time. It would be a futile hope too.

“How can you be so damn smart and such an idiot at the same time!” 

Magnus groans as he says this and he turns around, slamming the door shut behind himself. 

\---

Clary is enjoying a drink with Isabelle in the salon downstairs when Magnus storms in, looking quite annoyed. She doesn’t have to think for more than a second or two to know that the source of his mood is her brother. Exchanging a glance with Izzy, she waves the man over with a smile. 

“Is your brother always so difficult?” Magnus asks as he slumps in a chair, looking almost defeated. 

“Yup,” Clary answers cheerfully. “That’s a very Alec thing to be, difficult. But I’ve heard he’s worth the trouble.” 

She grins at Magnus, who chuckles and orders a drink for himself. 

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about those desert people who rescued us, would you?” 

She is trying to act as casually as possible, because she knows there isn’t much she can do at the moment anyway. But ever since she saw _her_, she’s been thinking about _her_ almost constantly. That beautiful woman who had led the desert people and who had told them to leave. Even if they had been in the moonlight, and with only the light of the torches around, Clary knows she was the most beautiful she had ever seen. She had been strong, and in control, and cocky... 

“Not much no,” Magnus cuts in her thoughts just as she is remembering every detail of the woman’s physique. “They are desert dwellers, so they don’t value gold the way we do around here. They did say they had to put the Mummy back where it came from but well. I don’t know what that is about.” 

Clary sighs a bit, trying to keep her disappointment to herself. She takes another sip of her whiskey and immediately spits it out, a noise followed by many similar ones as everyone around spit their drinks, which have suddenly lost all taste besides one: the tangy, irony taste of blood. 

Next to her, Izzy wipes her mouth, disgusted. Then, she looks at the fountain in the middle of the room, which had let out a beautiful stream of translucent water a few minutes ago. Now, the water is red and thick, splashing on the ground ominously. 

“And the water of Egypt ran red with blood...” 

It’s Izzy’s voice, Clary can recognize it, but she is too mesmerized by the water— blood? — to really pay attention. She can feel it in her veins, the upcoming danger. She knows what this means. 

“The Mummy is here.” Magnus starts walking immediately after saying that. “Pack your bags ladies, I’m going to get your brother to leave.” 

_Good luck with that,_ Clary thinks. Alec is the most stubborn person she knows, and it’s not this that will stop him from trying to tighten his wrongs. They are doomed. How she wishes that she had never brought that box to Alec now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment! I love them :) If you want to talk more about this fic, my tumblr (@saltytransmalec) is always open, even if i don't post much on it !


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second encounter with the mummy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy a longer chapter :D from now on, I'm aiming for chapters between 1k and 2k :)

Magnus can’t believe it, Alexander is out of his room already. He leaves for ten minutes, barely, and the librarian manages to go out to explore, or something else in that vein. If Magnus wasn’t so focused on protecting him, he would want to strangle Mister Lightwood. Damn him and his hazel eyes, making Magnus lose his head! 

He’s running in the gardens, trying to find him and avoid the British soldiers walking around at the same time. Finally, a familiar figure appears, sitting on a bench and reading a book. Magnus should have known that’s what he would be doing. There is rarely a moment when the man doesn’t have a book in his hand. 

“Alright break time is over, we’ve got to go!” 

Alexander looks up, and his surprise at seeing him is clear in his stare. Magnus wants to be hurt at the genuine surprise there, but he has started to realize Alexander doesn’t have much faith in the people around him, besides his sisters. Still, Magnus thought they were past this now.

“You decided to stay then?” His voice is a bit full of hope, something young shining through it. With the hard shell he project, this is quite the breakthrough for Magnus. Nonetheless, they have a few urgent matters to attend to. 

“The Mummy we brought back to life is in the city, we are leaving this place right now!” 

He grabs Alexander’s hand and starts dragging him away. The man doesn’t react right away, apparently stuck on the words that have just been said, but when he does his fingers tighten on Magnus’ hold. 

The sky opens above them as they start running, and Magnus thanks every possible gods they are back under the safety of the hallway that leads to the stairs. 

A piece of rock and fire crashes on the ground not ten meters away from them. It startles them and Magnus stops in his run to look at the devastation happening at the moment. The garden, which had been so beautiful and well flowered, is now aflame and broken by the pieces that are falling from the sky. It’s a shame, but Magnus doesn’t have the time to mourn it. 

A yelp behind them is what alerts him to another presence. As he turns around, he sees the retreating back of Jace Wayland. Strange, he had thought Jace had stayed behind in Hamunaptra. He grabs him by the end of the shirt and throws him against the wall, Alec looking a bit startled next to him. He’ll care about that at another moment. 

“Jace, old friend. I thought you had stayed in the desert, enjoying the sun!” 

Magnus’ grin is anything but friendly. He half wishes Jace had stayed there, dead and buried. 

“Bane! So good to see you again!” His voice is meek as Magnus squeezes his throat slightly. 

“What kind of business are you up to now?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all!” 

Magnus is about to interrogate him some more but another rock crashes on the ground close to them and Alexander startles. The tug on his arm moves him slightly and he lets go of Jace. Jace, who proceeds to scramble away, and pushing roughly Alexander out of the way.

It doesn’t matter anyway, they just have to get away at this point. Magnus starts leading Alec away, but the man resists.

“We have to stop this!” Alec yells over the chaos. 

Magnus wants to yell at the man, to scream until he listens to him, but he also feels like Alec is right. They have to put a stop to it, and since they were the ones to start this... 

He groans. “Alright. Let’s go see where our old buddy Jace was.”

They head upstairs quickly, running through the hallways. There are strange noise coming from one of the room, crackling and breaking, the sound of someone stepping on bones. Magnus exchanges a look with Alexander and walks in slowly. The door doesn’t make any noise as it reveals the empty room. 

A cadaver lies on one of the chairs, mummified with its mouth open in an immortalized scream. A linen cloth covers its eyes and the dried blood on it seems as ancient as the whole dried body. 

“It’s that American who got hurt in Hamunaptra,” Alexander whispers, his fingers gripping harshly the arm he is holding. Magnus doesn’t want to think there may be more than fear motivating Alexander, but each time he flexes his muscles, the librarian grips a bit tighter. It’s amusing. 

“Mr. Bane.” Alec’s voice is much different now, and it pulls Magnus out of his thoughts. “Mr. Bane, look over there.” 

As he looks, he sees immediately why the sound of crackling and whipping hasn’t stopped. The mummy is there, its back to them, and bits of flesh and bones are coming back to it. It’s reforming as they watch, and it’s horrifying. It has a strong back, and an elegant figure. It is certain that it was a woman, once. During its transformation, it turns back towards them and notices them. A half formed pair of breasts hangs naked on what it is definitely her chest. She is horrifying in all her rotten form. 

“I think we’ve got some troubles,” Magnus says as she opens her mouth and an inhuman sound comes from her throat.

As she roars, Alec startles and steps back. Immediately, Magnus whips out his guns and starts shooting. Unlike during the previous encounter, each shot does nothing to stop the mummy from advancing. Rather, she seems to be amused by it and Magnus keeps going, aiming for her heart, or where it should be. She’s faster than he had anticipated though; with one strong movement, she sends him flying away. He falls on the Lightwood ladies, who he hadn’t heard coming in, and some of the Americans and they all groans as it happens. 

Helplessly, Magnus watches as the mummy approaches Alexander, cornering him against the wall. She caresses his cheek and says something, but there is something so disturbing about this interaction that Magnus can’t even manage to try and understand it. 

The discordant sound of something falling on the piano on the left side of the room makes them all turn their head. A cat has just jumped down from the windowsill and is now lazily walking on the white and black keys. It hisses as the mummy, who steps back, looking terrified suddenly. The shriek she gives is piercing and Magnus looks away for an instant as he covers his ears. 

When he looks back, the mummy has turned into a screaming tornado of sand, flying around the room and escaping through the open windows. 

“I really, really, think,” Magnus says as he stands back up slowly, Alexander shakily giving him a hand, “That we are in serious troubles.”

\---

“Alexander,” Magnus catches up with Alec, gripping his arm lightly. “Where are you taking us? Why are we here?” 

They are walking through the museum where Alec has spent most of life, either walking or working. Clary and Izzy are following, guns strapped to their waist and dressed in men’s clothes, and the Americans are behind them, looking skittish and afraid with every turn. They aren’t a very proud group but Alec doesn’t care. He wants to know more than anything what is going on, and something is telling him Hodge knew more than he let on when they had brought him the map. There had been something strange about his behavior in his office. 

“There is only one person I know who might give us more answers,” he tells the adventurer. “Hopefully, he will be-“ 

He cuts himself off when they arrive in one of the exhibits room, where there are displayed relics from the Ancient Egyptian kingdoms, and he finds himself face to face with Hodge talking to two of the desert people that went after the mummy in Hamunaptra. In an instant, all guns are raised against them and Alec sighs a bit. His sisters’ blood runs too hot and Magnus seems to be the same. He wants to despair a bit at this, but had he a gun at the moment, it would probably be pointed at Hodge. 

“What are they doing here,” Clary exclaims, her tone betrayed. Alec agrees with the sentiment; they have known Hodge most of their lives, and even if their relationship with him has soured in the last few years, seeing him with people who attacked them feels like an attack of its own. No matter that the two people were right in this specific situation. 

“Oh for the love of-“ Hodge cuts himself off. “Lower your gun, what are you all, stupid? Those people are the only ones who may help us stop this madness you have unleashed.” 

Izzy is the first to put back her pistol at her waist and Alec sees the smirk she exchanges with the man on the other side of the room. So this _is_ the man with whom she had had her fun the other night. 

Clary follows her sister’s lead, and so does Magnus, and the Americans are the last to do so, but when all guns are strapped back where they belong, Hodge sighs of relief. 

“Finally, we can act like civilized beings. Gentlemen, ladies,” he nods to Clary and Izzy, “those are Meliorn and Maia, leaders of the Medjai. They were tasked with protecting humanity from the mummy trapped within Hamunaptra.” 

“Well they clearly failed,” one of the American yells, and Alec knows it’s the one who had been awfully close to the one that’s already dead. He feels some pity for him, but if the man could just shut up for an instant... 

“And whose fault is that,” the woman, Maia, snaps back. “You all went to Hamunaptra and kept on searching despite our warnings. You took the book of the dead out and read the inscriptions. You all woke Lilith up, and now she wants her revenge on humanity.” 

Alec gulps down as a fresh wave of guilt washes over him. He really, really regrets reading that book. He is determined to do better though, so he steps up. 

“If we brought her back, we’ll put her back where she belongs.” 

Maia looks at him skeptically but she nods finally. “Wise decision.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all liked this chapter! Don't hesitate to leave a comment, tell me what you thought, etc! I always enjoy them immensely.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More talk with the Medjai and more curses...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOPS I almost forgot to post lmao   
I'm a bit of a mess in life atm but this is still getting written, maybe a bit slower than I would like, but a chapter a week is still going to happen! No more hiatus I swear!   
Enjoy this chapter of our Lightwood Frays being in a right mess and still managing to soft gaze at the cuties they are into. :D

“So wait,” Alec interrupts with a frown. 

Everyone but him is sitting down around the exhibit as he paces around, listening to Maia and Meliorn explain the full situation. 

“So that _thing_ out there is Queen Lilith, brought back to life because she was subjected to the Hamun-Dai after trying to resurrect her son. Now she is looking for revenge and for a way to bring her son, Jonathan, the Morning Star of Egypt, back to life.” 

“Succinctly put, yes,” Maia nods from her seat on the golden throne. She’s slightly above everyone else this way, and it gives her a regal and authoritative look that has Clary devoting her attention to her mostly. 

“So how do we send her back to the dead?” 

“We can send her back for now, since she hasn’t killed all the people who opened her box.” Maia points at the two Americans in the room. “That would be you, right?” 

The two men nods, and one of them exclaims, “but listen here, we weren’t the ones who killed or woke her up, so why is she coming after us?” 

“Aren’t you the ones who stole from her?” Magnus asks languidly from his seat. 

Alec turns his eyes to him and gulps slightly. Memories of almost kissing the man the time they were both drunk in Hamunaptra have been coming back, and he can remember the way Magnus’ lips had felt on his when they had been at the prison. It had felt so... freeing, even if Magnus hadn’t asked his permission. Alec has never felt such an intense attraction to anyone on sight before, and he is pretty certain he won’t again. He wants Magnus so badly it aches sometimes, especially when the man is sprawled in something, looking absolutely unworried about life. Alec knows it’s a facade, but still. There is something so attractive and breathtaking about him being so carefree. 

“You all were the ones who woke her up!” 

“Oh shut up,” Izzy snaps. “We are all going to suffer from this, so you two will stay safely put, as far away from Lilith as possible, until we can kill her. Is that clear?” 

“Like hell we—“ 

“Wait a second,” Alec cuts in, not even bothering to pretend that he cares about the Americans. They are whiny and cowards to the very end of their nails. “The Mummy, Lilith, she said something to me earlier.” 

Meliorn exchanges a look with Maia and leans forward. “And what did she say?” 

“She said something about me waking her up... ‘you shall be rewarded for waking me’ and um...” he thinks for a few seconds and looks at his sisters, wondering how to say this without making them panic. “She said I would be a formidable vessel for her son.” 

“What?!” Izzy, Clary and Magnus have all leaped up and are frowning, but it’s Izzy who talks next, addressing Meliorn. “What the hell does this mean?”

Meliorn frowns and looks again at Maia. It’s almost imperceptible but she nods, and it’s when he speaks again. So when Hodge introduced them both as leaders, he forgot to mention this Maia was the one in charge of everything…

“It means Lilith has chosen your brother as the sacrifice for her son’s return to life. Since Jonathan’s body decomposed and is left to nothing, she needs a body for him to inhabit when she brings him back. She’ll kill your brother and Jonathan’s soul will be inside his body.” 

“So Jonathan in Alexander's body,” Magnus summarizes, looking disgusted with the idea. “Well we really do have to stop her now, don’t we?” 

Alec rolls his eyes at the explorer but his words do fill him with some warmth still. “So, what can I do,” Alec asks the two Medjai. 

“Nothing, but stay away from her as much as possible. She will attempt to reach you, now that she has chosen you and,” Maia interrupts herself as she looks up. The moon, high and bright in the sky that was shining through the glass ceiling a mere moment ago, is slowly getting covered by a thick dark round. The eclipse is total, and there is no light anymore in a couple of seconds.

“…and he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.”

It’s Clary’s voice, and the way she says it, completely mesmerized and with terror clear in her voice, make Alec shivers. He is afraid, but he won’t let it define him. He is Alexander Lightwood, son of Maryse Lightwood, brother of Isabelle and Clarissa. The darkness doesn’t control him, and he will do everything he can to stop the world from ending. Even when it means fighting against an ancient queen of Egypt with powers who is hellbent on killing him so that she can use his body for her son’s soul. Charming perspective.

\---

Clary moves towards Maia before they all separate, the Medjai going to look for some ancient weapons with Hodge while the Lightwood-Frays, Magnus and the Americans go back to the hotel until everything’s ready. It’s been decided they can’t let go of the Americans since, if they die The Mummy will become stronger. 

“Maia,” Clary smiles as she extends a hand. “I’m Clary Lightwood-Fray.” 

“Ah yes. I remember you,” the dark skinned woman say and she doesn’t smile, but the light of the lantern in her hand makes her eyes dance. “You’re a good shot. Close to your siblings. Is there anything you need?” 

Clary shakes her head slightly. “Just wondering, the creature, well, Lilith, she was scared by a cat, is there anything about that we can use to our advantage?” 

“By a cat?” At Clary’s nod, Maia smiles a bit. “Cats are the guardians of the underworld, so if Lilith sees a cat while she isn’t fully regenerated, it would make sense that she is afraid. If the right one, it could hunt her back where she belongs, under Anubis’ careful watch. As soon as she regains her full power, nothing anymore will frighten her, not even the gods.” 

The gods. Clary has never truly had faith, despite knowing she was baptized by her birth parents. She has never been one for going to church or for reading the Bible on Sundays, and neither were Maryse and Luke. The idea that a god, or more than one, exists has passed her mind on multiple occasion, but it’s not something she had seriously considered before. Now though… 

“Are you afraid of the gods, Clary Lightwood-Fray?” Maia asks, her voice low and closer than she had been moments ago. 

“Not afraid,” Clary gulps slightly at the closeness. She is no stranger to desire and wanting women, and no stranger to the pleasure that comes with being in bed with another woman, but there is something about Maia that unsettles her to the core. In a pleasing way, Maia makes her feel like she has never seduced anyone before. “Simply wondering how we can fight someone who has as much power as a god, and if it is even possible.”

Maia chuckles slightly, dry but still sweet. “What is it, you Englishmen say? While there is life, there is hope? As long as we are all fighting Lilith and that there is a resistance to her powers, it is possible. Do not doubt the Medjai, or yourself, Clary. Even without powers, we remain a strong people. The Medjai imprisoned her once in the past, and we will again. Your brother has sworn to help us, and you don’t seem the type to abandon your brother to peril like this.” 

“I’m not.” 

“I’m glad to see I wasn’t wrong then. Not many women of your people are as courageous or brave as your sister and yourself. Take pride and heart in fighting for yourself, and for all the people of the world.” 

Maia’s speech is accompanied by her left hand settling on Clary’s shoulder, her thumb brushing the base of the redhead’s neck. She’s strong, that much is clear from her hands, and she is used to a rough life, with calluses and cuts covering her fingers and palm. It’s an even more attractive fact to Clary. 

“Thank you,” Clary answers with a smile, and Maia smiles as well, small but there. 

“Go join your siblings now, they'll need you.” 

Clary nods and goes back to Alec and Izzy, throwing a last look behind her shoulder. Maia is still looking at her, and the intensity of her stare makes Clary shivers. She really hopes they manage to defeat this mummy, for more than just saving the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! Don't hesitate to leave a comment, they help me get more writing done! <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some running around, some arguing, the usual for our heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo 
> 
> I'm back again with a chapter! This one is quite long (compared to the previous ones), which means that next week might be delayed! I'll try my best for it not to be, but life may get in the way. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

They are back at the hotel, Alec furiously packing a small bag while Magnus asks the Americans question after question, and Izzy is dreadfully bored by all of this. This is supposed to be an adventure, full of excitement and movement! Not a boring evening of listening to her brother routinely arguing with the man he fancies, while two cowards are trying to leave discreetly every ten minutes, always to be stopped by Clary. 

There is something different about Izzy’s sister. Of course, Clary has always been a confident, proud woman, but there is something more… definite about her tonight. The way she juts her chin at the men defiantly, how her hand rests regularly on the gun that she attached to her waist, it feels oddly fitting. It’s nothing that worries Izzy, the heaven knows Clary is more than capable of taking care of herself, but it definitely intrigues her. It’s like her sister is more herself tonight than she has been in a long time. 

“Izzy, are you coming or not?" Alec gives Izzy a questioning look, and she notices just now that his hand is on her shoulder. 

She ignores the concern in his eyes and nods as she stands up from the comfortable loveseat that adorns the large room. “Sure, where are we going?” 

“We’re going to check the Egyptologist’s rooms, see if he is still there. If he isn’t, we can at least find a clue there.” 

Izzy approves with a nod again and grabs the discarded jacket she had stolen from him a long time ago. It’s warm and comfortable, but most importantly, it had been a gift from their mother. Izzy doesn’t often let it get to her, how much she misses their parents, but it’s always there, in the back of her throat. It’s gotten better over the years, but the grief never fully disappears. 

“Let’s go then.” She links her arm through his with a practiced ease and the worry fades from his eyes. “I suppose we’ll be following Magnus?” 

“You suppose well, Isabelle." Magnus appears over her brother’s shoulder, and she laughs slightly at the startle Alec gives. With everything that’s happening to them, Alec should really not be startled anymore by Magnus’ closeness. Her brother is sensitive though, under that layer of toughness. He may keeps his feelings close to his heart at most time, but she knows him. Even with everything happening, he is happy to have Magnus around him. 

Magnus continues speaking as he comes to face them. “I would have rather preferred that your brother stay here, where it is safer for him than outside in the streets, but—“ 

“I will not hide, and I doubt you can do anything to force me to do so,” Alec proudly states, and she can see he is squaring his shoulders to make himself appear taller. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt I could,” Magnus grins and winks, and Isabelle hides her laughter. “But we have other things to do for now, and other places to go to, so we will revisit that idea later on.” 

“Maybe we should split up," Clary suggests as she reaches them. “The Americans can stay here, and Magnus and I will go looking for the Egyptologist. Maybe you two should watch over them? I don’t trust them to not try and run away. They’ll get killed the instant they step out.” 

Alec rolls his eyes. “I’m not staying here with those idiots more than necessary. Why would you and Magnus get to go while Izzy and I have to stay here? There has got to be something more useful for us to do.”

“There must be a way to put the Mummy down, right Alec? If you opened the book of the dead and that brought him back to life, maybe there is another book, maybe the actual Book of Life, that could kill him?” Izzy looks at her brother. “After all, Mother always used to say things like curses always went in pairs.” 

Alec’s face lightens up. "I have to go back to the museum,” he says as he smiles at his sister. “I think Izzy just gave us the solution!” 

Izzy smiles back, pretty proud of herself. This evening is already looking much better, if only because she might see Meliorn again and have a real talk with him. She is aware that they are in the middle of a crisis, but maybe they could step away and enjoy each other’s company some more as well… After all, if the Americans are with them, there is no reason that they don’t have the time to find some pleasure. And, even if they die, might as well go out of this world with something spectacular. 

“Wait a second,” Clary says loudly, cutting into Izzy’s thoughts. “Where have the Americans gone?” 

Izzy turns around and looks at the empty room before groaning. The Americans have left. They are doomed.   
\---

“Shouldn’t we have gone with Alec and Izzy to look for the Americans?” Clary asks this as she follows Magnus to the egyptologist’s home. 

They split up ways a few minutes ago and have gone with the original strategy of Clary and Magnus going to find the egyptologist while Izzy and Alec are looking for the Americans and, if short of that, going to the museum to find a way to stop the Mummy. It’s insane. She hates being separated from her siblings, but they have agreed to meet at the museum as soon as they are all done on their parts. She’s feeling uneasy from all the danger her brother and sister might be in, but she trusts Magnus knows what he is doing. He wouldn’t have suggested it if he thought Alec would be endangered by the plan. He is, after all, quite under Clary’s brother’s charm. 

“It’s no use for all of us to go after the same people,” Magnus answers tensely. “We need to find that egyptologist and make sure he is safe. We’ll go back to your siblings immediately after that, I swear.” 

She nods when he looks at her and they hurry their pace. When they reach the door of the man’s apartment, they can hear a voice coming from inside, alongside noises of things being thrown to the ground. Magnus and Clary simultaneously take out their respective guns and Clary nods to the door, signaling to her companion to open it. 

Magnus kicks the door open without any problem, and when Clary follows him inside, she recognizes the person inside instantly. 

She had thought, had feared truthfully, that it might be the mummy. She is relieved that it is only Jace Wayland, the sneery fellow that had leered at her back in Hamunaptra. She can handle men who think too much of themselves. 

“Let me guess,” Magnus says, not lowering his guns. “Spring cleaning?” 

Jace smiles meekly and opens his arms. “Magnus, what are you doing here? Why did you bring such a lovely lady and give her a gun?” 

“The ‘lovely lady’ can speak for herself,” Clary grits out and takes a step forward, aiming at Jace’s torso more clearly. “And I decided to come on my own. What are you doing here, and where is the man who lives here?” 

“Miss, I’m just checking up on the man living here, who has disappeared!” 

“Oh yeah?” Magnus cocks his gun. “Maybe he is with your new friend then.” 

“What new friend? You’re my only friend, Magnus!” 

“Oh don’t bullshit me.” 

Magnus has put back his guns in their sheaths and moved forward so quickly Clary almost doesn’t see him. She definitely sees him when he grabs Jace by the shirt. 

“You know, your new friend Lilith, from Hamunaptra.” 

“I would never—“ Jace’s lie is cut off by Magnus lifting him up to the fan turning overhead them and Clary gasps slightly. 

“Magnus!” She intends to say more but the words are spilling out of Jace’s mouth. 

“She is looking for the Americans who hired me! She wants to get what they took from her back!” 

Uh. So this method is working. Magnus looks at her and she shrugs, coming closer. 

“What’s in it for you,” Magnus shakes Jace closer to the fan and Clary would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the man’s scared squeak a bit. He is on the side of the mummy, she’ll condone some violence for informations for once. 

“It is better to be in the right hand of the Devil than in her path,” Jace answers quickly. “As long as I serve her, I am immune!” 

“Immune to what?” Clary asks, a bit frustrated with the vagueness of the answer. She’s had it with non-answer. If this cowardly man knows anything that could help her and her siblings, she wants to know. 

“You shall see,” Jace pants out as Magnus lowers him slightly. 

She wants to pursue the line of enquiry but Magnus shakes his head and raises Jace again. She is starting to see why her brother is attracted to the explorer, besides his quick wit and charming personality. He’s clearly quite strong, to be able to lift another man for a few minutes without a break. 

“What were you looking for?" 

“The book! The black book they found at Hamunaptra! Lilith wants it back.” 

“Why?” 

“She said she wanted to bring her son back! That she needed the book for that!” He turns his head to Clary and a bit of a sinister smile spreads on his face. He might be less idiotic than she had thought. “And your brother.” 

Magnus is about to answer when Jace knees him in between his legs, forcing Magnus to let go of him as he groans of pain slightly. Clary tries to catch the blond man, but he is already jumping out of the window and climbing down the building with an agility she hadn’t thought possible of him. She sighs and turns to look at Magnus, who is getting back up with a groan. 

“That looked painful,” she comments plainly and he glares at her slightly. 

“You know, ever since I met you Lightwood-Frays, I’ve been quite short on luck.” 

She chuckles slightly. “We tend to have that effect on people yes.” 

He smiles slightly and is about to answer when a scream comes from the street. It’s loud and blood chilling, and they both rush to the window.

Cornered, the egyptologist is facing off a cloaked figure. He says something, but Clary is too far away to understand what it is. She can only see him trying to cover his face as he slowly dries out. It looks as if, of their own accord, every liquid in his body is leaving him. Magnus pulls her down just as she sees the cloaked figure turn towards them.

“Well,” she pants slightly a few seconds later, "I think it’s safe to say we are sure of what Lilith is planning on doing to the Americans if we don’t find them before she does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment if you did, tell me what you think! Next week chapter might be delayed to the following week but I will do my best for it not to be :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last plague...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again~ 
> 
> This chapter was so fun to write, especially since it has my favorite exchange in the whole movie :D I hope you'll enjoy it!

Alec is panting as Izzy and him look through Cairo’s streets for the Americans. How could they be so idiotic and run away? Do they think the mummy won’t come after them if they aren’t near Alec, simply because Lilith chose him to be the vessel for her son’s soul? 

Thinking back to that, he feels a bit nauseous at the idea. What would happen to his own soul? Would he die? He supposes that is the main idea. No more Alexander Lightwood, welcome back Jonathan, Morning Star of Egypt. 

“Would you mind stopping freaking out for a second and help me look for the Americans?” 

Izzy is a few meters away and Alec realizes that he has stopped in the middle of the street, so lost in thought he hadn’t kept moving. 

“Sorry,” he apologizes as he catches up with her. “Got any idea where to go look next? We’ve looked in all the hotels and bars nearby, and I doubt they went too far.” 

“Well, maybe they took a car and got the hell out of here? Wouldn’t blame those bastards…”

Alec is about to answer when a yell stops him, a man running towards them as he clutches against his chest what Alec recognizes as one of the recipients where Ancient Egyptians would put the removed part of the dead as they were embalmed. 

“SHE’S COMING,” the man yells, running to them panicked. “SHE’S HERE!” 

The American — Alec has stopped even pretending he cares about their names, he only wants them not to die so he doesn’t as well — collides with them, clearly unable to stop his panicking. 

“Alright, alright,” Alec shouts over him but it doesn’t calm him down.

Izzy rolls her eyes and slaps the American harshly. “ Shut up! You’re going to attract Lilith to us!” 

The man freezes in fear, but at least he has stopped yelling. 

“What happened to the other?" Alec questions him while putting back some distance between them. The man absolutely disgusts him. 

“We were just getting a car, and he went to get some gas, and then there was this weird chanting, and—“ The man only stops himself to suck in a breath, clutching the recipient in his arms tightly. “Henderson, he took out his gun, but it did nothing when he shot that bastard, and then, then it … It crunched him, dried him like a raisin!” 

He shouts again and Alec resists the urge to slap him the way his sister did. It is so very tempting. 

“So Lilith killed him, and you ran away? And you kept those?” Alec points to the recipients in his hands. “How stupid do you have to be to keep them?” 

“At least I’m not stupid enough to wake up a fucking mummy,” the American answers defensively.

Alec is about to answer when Izzy cuts in, rolling her eyes. “Alright boys, enough chit chat for now. We’ve gotta find back Magnus and Clary and then on to the museum. And no discussion on this!” 

Izzy’s authoritative tone shuts up both her brother and the American and she nods satisfied. She heads away and turns to them impatiently. Alec shoves the American in her direction and they both follow her out of the streets.

\---

The drive back to the museum had been fearful but quiet. There hadn’t been a word exchanged between Magnus and the rest of the group; he had been too focused on getting them through Cairo safely. Now that they are back at the museum, that Maia and Meliorn are escorting them and chatting up the two Lightwood-Frays women, Alexander is back close to Magnus. It’s nice, and somewhat calming, and Magnus is relieved that Alexander is safe from harm once again. He is glad that they are back together too, but he tries to not focus on that. First saving the man’s life, then maybe more kisses. If he is lucky and didn’t misread Alec’s looks on him. 

“When I was tidying up the library,” Alexander says quietly as they walk up the stairs, “I found an inscription that talked about the Book of the Dead, and it said that it could bring back people from the dead. Now of course I didn’t believe it at the time, but now—“ 

“You better believe it, we saw it happen,” Magnus says and steers Alexander upstairs. 

“Yes yes, I know. The thing, I didn’t believe it because it’s supposed to be the Book of the Living who does that, but what if instead, the Book of the Living sends the undead back to death?”

“So if we find the gold book, we find a way to destroy that crazy lady who wants to use your body for her son’s soul?” 

“Exactly!” 

“So where is the book?” Clary jumps in the conversation, and it occurs suddenly that everyone around them has been listening to the conversation. Everyone has their head turned to them and is listening to their musings. 

Alexander looks at his sister and is about to answer when a strange sound reaches them. Chanting come from outside, a low but steady hum that is getting closer. Magnus frowns and walks quickly to the window. 

Down in the street that leads to the museum, hundreds of people — most of the people of Cairo if Magnus had to guess — are gathered, holding torches and chanting Lilith’s name. The queen walks among them, almost fully having recovered her human form. There are still spots, mainly around her hands and mouth, where the skin is rotten and flimsy, where Magnus can see even from far away the scarabs that move under her skin. 

“Last but not least, my favorite plague,” Isabelle says in a morbid tone, standing in between her sister and Meliorn as she looks down at the scene, a look of utter disgust on her face. “Boils and sores.” 

She’s right, of course. Of the mixed population of British colonists and Egyptian natives, all of them have ugly sores and boils around their faces and bodies. They are all looking completely disformed, and Magnus would have a hard time recognizing anyone he might know, even if he stood face to face with them. 

“They have become his slaves," Meliorn adds. “This is the beginning of the end. Our doom is upon us.” 

“Not quite yet, it isn’t," Alexander turns around quickly. “Come on!” 

Magnus and the others follow him back to a large dark stone on which many inscriptions are written, hieroglyphics all blending in together to Magnus’ unused eyes. He could decipher it, if he were given the time. After all, like all good explorers, he has done his best to learn most ancient languages that could lead him to unexpected treasures. It’s a side that he has learnt to enjoy, and it’s also the way he had known how to get to Hamunaptra in the first place. They don’t have the time though, and Alexander is already at it with Clary and Isabelle, Hodge also looking at it intently. 

“Alright, according to the Bumbridge scholars, the golden book of Amun-Ra is buried at the base of the statue of Anubis, but that’s where you all found the black back, didn’t you?” 

The question is directed at the American, but the man doesn’t answer and Alexander rolls his eyes. Magnus smiles slightly. 

“So what,” Clary asks with a frown, “they made a mistake?” 

“Absolutely,” her brother nods and goes back to reading. 

Behind them, the clamor and shouts of the crowd banging at the doors are getting louder. The doors are vibrating with the heavy banging of dozens of people throwing themselves at the hard wood in their Lilith-induced craze. It won’t hold for long; cracks can already be heard in the room as the doors start to break down. Magnus gets his guns back out of their slings, mimicked by the two Medjai. Maia, Meliorn and him exchange a look and nods as they all position themselves around the Lightwood-Frays in order to protect them. It’s not really a conscious decision, Magnus doesn’t even notice they are doing it until he is placed against the balustrade, his gun aimed at the door, but they all seem to have paired off with their designated protégé: Meliorn is standing the closest to Isabelle, Maia to Clary, and himself to Alexander. It’s fitting. 

“They mixed up the books, mixed up where they were buried,” Alexander mumbles as he follows the hieroglyphics on the stone carefully. “So if the black book was inside the statue of Anubis…” 

He trails off mid-sentence, focused on his readings. 

The door breaks finally, and the angry crowd pours in, yelling and clamoring. They fill the empty museum with noise and life, but Magnus would pay more than his weight in gold to go back to the unnatural quiet of the desert right now. He doesn’t shoot at the people down there, refuses to. They aren’t a danger at the moment and he doesn’t want to have someone’s death on his conscience this way. He knows that, if they get alive out of this mess, the deaths of the Americans will probably haunt him for the rest of his days. For now though, he is trying to focus on something else, like actually surviving. 

“Come on, Alec, faster,” Izzy urges him. 

Alexander doesn’t seem to really hear her though, his eyes still intently focused on the tablet in front of him. “Patience is a virtue, Isabelle,” he says, almost languidly.

The crowd yells again, and Magnus looks back to them; their group has been spotted and some of the people are heading their way, having figured out that the stairs are an easy way to access them. 

“Not right now, it isn’t," Magnus shouts and gets ready to shoot. The guns feel heavy in his hands but he’ll do everything to protect Alexander and his family.

Isabelle rolls her eyes and grabs Meliorn’s arm. “We’ll go get the car started, meet us down there!” 

She drags the Medjai away without giving him any choice, but the man doesn’t seem too conflicted, only exchanging a brief nod with Maia. 

“I’ve got it,” Alexander finally says, and this is music to Magnus’ ears. “The golden Book is inside the statue of Horus, at Hamunaptra!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment, tell me what you thought :D


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping the city turns out to be more complicated than they had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo~ 
> 
> I almost forgot to post, that's an oops! But I have good news!! I've made this fic my main project for February, since I really want to finish writing it before a surgery I have planned in early march. This means that chapters will be longer from now on, at minimum 2k. I might also increase the frequency of updates to twice a week, but not right away. Maybe after next week's update? I'll keep y'all updated. 
> 
> I also have a brand new Twitter! But it is purely for original content, since I am also trying to get published as a children's author, and potentially YA. If you guys want to check out some of it, come find me @AAurieres. 
> 
> Cheers! Enjoy the chapter :D

Izzy and Meliorn are running as fast as they can towards the car when they hear the low rumble of people screaming coming from the Museum. 

“Lilith,” the crowd is repeating, and Izzy freezes. They can’t get caught now, they are literally meters away from the car! They are so close to getting away, she can’t give up. 

“Do like me,” she whispers to Meliorn and straightens herself, putting on her blandest face as she is swept by the crowd. 

“Lilith, Lilith!” She repeats that with the blandest tone she can manage, blending in with the crowd. 

Meliorn looks at her, a bit astonished, but he quickly does the same as her, neither of them moving forward though. They stay in place, chanting until the crowd has moved past them.

“That was some clever thinking," Meliorn compliments her as she starts the car. 

She grins. ‘“What, did you think I was just a pretty face?”

“Never. I only like smart women."

“Then you are in luck, it appears.”

She has just started the car and he is about to answer, his smile wide, when a voice comes from behind. 

“Let’s go,” the American shouts as he runs to the car, eagerly climbing in it. 

Alec and Clary are right behind him, as well as Maia and Magnus. Hodge is nowhere in sight though, but she doesn’t have time to worry about it. As soon as everyone is somewhat installed in the car, she starts driving, trying to go to the latest possible without breaking anything from the get go. 

“Lilith!” A familiar voice shouts, “Lilith! They are escaping!” 

Izzy only turns one eye to see Jace on the steps of the Museum, pointing at them and screaming. 

“You’ll get yours Jace,” Magnus screams back, and is only restrained from throwing something at the blond man by Alec. 

There is a screeching sound as they depart and Izzy doesn’t look up, but Clary gasps. 

“Lilith…”

Izzy focuses on driving, right now it’s all that matters, them escaping. The streets of Cairo are narrow and impractical, and Izzy is not the best driver there is. 

“Go faster!”

“Shut up Alec!”

She can’t have her brother just giving her orders right now, this is stressful enough as it is. She definitely doesn’t need him being stressed and afraid. 

She has just rounded the corner of one street when she sees a mass of people, gathered in the middle of the street. They aren’t moving in the dark mist enveloping the city, and she stops the car abruptly, everyone getting jostled. 

“What the—“ Magnus starts and stops himself as he notices what made her stop. 

There is a beat of silence, a beat of uncomfortable decision making. Are they really ready for this? Are they really ready to drive into people, potentially killing them? Izzy isn’t. She wants to be a doctor, to heal people, not to harm them! 

“Go!” Magnus shouts and she instinctively starts the car again. 

They head into the mass of bodies gathered in the middle of the street and she tries to ignore the people rushing on the car, trying to grab them. She can’t go fast, it’s literally impossible with Lilith’s slaves gathered like this. They are blocking the path. 

“We’ll take care of it,” Meliorn says as he stands up, pressing her shoulder reassuringly. 

In the matter of a second, Maia and him are starting to clear the street, sending the people flying away while causing them as little harm as possible. Clary, Alec and Magnus join in, but Izzy doesn’t hear the American. The coward is probably hiding in the backseat, still holding one of those vases Lilith is coveting. 

“Bane!”

Ah, so at least he is still alive. Izzy throws a look over her shoulder, trying to understand why the American is screaming like this. She has finally managed to pick up some speed again, thanks to everyone’s concentrated effort, and it’s only then she realizes two of Lilith’s slaves have managed to climb onto the car and have grabbed him. 

“Izzy!”

Clary steers the car quickly, avoiding them a collusion with a house. Izzy had been so distracted she hadn’t noticed the intersection coming, and she nods thankfully at her sister, who sighs of relief. 

They hear gunshots from behind and Izzy, without even looking backwards, knows what it means. They have lost the American. A shout and disgusting noises of bones crushing follow and Izzy winces. He’s dead. 

A hand grabs her head and suddenly she’s blinded as she battles against one of the mummy’s enchanted servants, trying to regain control of the car while pushing away. She shouts when there is a large impact and they are all thrown forward. 

Thankfully, everyone traveling with her is safe, but the car is stuck in a fountain and she groans. So good for their only escape method. 

\---

Lilith feels the blood of the one she has chosen close. He will be the one to bring her son back. His body is strong, and he will be a good vessel for Jonathan. The Morning Star will rise again over the world, and she’ll be there to help him shine. No one will ever stop them again… She just needs the body of the one she has chosen.

She is finally rejuvenated, her skin beautiful and no more cockroaches crawling in her mouth, when she senses him fully. At her side, the pitiful blond man she has bribed with gold is following her, leading her towards where her slaves are holding the captives. He has been helpful, but she knows her Jonathan will not like him. He has never liked when there were others around her. Jonathan is the only child she has ever loved; she had given other sons to Pharaoh, but none of them were as beautiful or as clever as her Jonathan. 

She walks forward slowly. Her dress is black as night, but gold remains on her crown, all over the linings of the cape draped lightly over her shoulders. She is the Queen, everyone should know so. 

The smell of fire greets her as they approach the miserable souls that have tried opposing her. The crowd parts in front of her, and she sees them. Three women, and three men, all gathered in a centre around the one she has chosen. Some of them bear the markings of the Medjai and she restrains the burning desire to kill them instantly. It is, after all, their fault if she is here in the first place. If they hadn’t stopped her from rising her beloved son back from the dead, she would not have been in this pitiful state for days before she had found those who had stolen her son’s canopic jars. They had stolen those precious jars that contained her son’s mind and organs, and she needed those for the ritual. She couldn’t bring him back without it. 

“Come with me, my son,” she says. “It is time to give you back your soul, for all eternity.”

There is an exchange as her blond servant translates what she has said in the modern language. Lilith understands it, vaguely, but she will not speak it. It is beneath her rank, and beneath herself, to speak such a poor language. She comes from a line of Kings and Queens, she will not lower herself to that. 

“Come with me, and your friends will not be harmed.” She says this, extending a hand towards the man. 

Silence follow the blond’s translation. She knows he will. She can see the way the soul of the man aches to protect his friends.

\---

Lilith’s offering is surprising, but Alec is very tempted to take it. He knows it’s a bad idea, he really is aware of how absolutely dumb and stupid it is to trust a thousands of years old mummy who wants to kill him to bring back her son to life, but he also can’t stand the idea of his sisters, Magnus, and even the Medjais, being killed right now. 

“If you have any bright ideas," he tells Magnus as he moves forward slightly, “Now would be the right time to share them.”

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking," Magnus mutters, looking around wildly. 

This isn’t going to work. They can’t get out alive. 

“Well do your thinking fast, because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the one I’m coming after.”

Alec squeezes Magnus’ arms lightly as he moves forward, going to Lilith’s side. 

“NO!” Three voices cry out at the same time. 

His sisters and Magnus are struggling against Maia and Meliorn, each of them having their guns in their hands. 

“Don’t,” Alec says quickly. "He still has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual.”

“He’s right,” Meliorn says as he forces Izzy and Magnus to put down their weapons. “Live today, fight tomorrow.”

Alec looks at his sisters and smiles as reassuringly as he can before turning his eyes to Magnus. The other man is looking devastated, but there is steel determination in his eyes. He won’t stop fighting for Alec, not ever. For that, Alec is thankful. He smiles softly and nods at Magnus. 

Magnus nods back and turns his eyes to Lilith, the tenderness that had been there seconds ago disappearing. 

“I’ll be seeing you again," he says, and it sounds more like an oath than a threat. 

He walks away with Lilith, not breaking eye contact with Magnus. He can’t bear to look away from the man, not even for a second. He knows Magnus will do everything possible to save him. 

Next to him, Jace is taking the key from Clary’s bag, who tries to stop him by kicking him, but Maia is holding her back. 

Lilith smirks. “Kill them all," she orders in Ancient Egyptian. 

“No!” Alec struggles in her grip, trying to free himself, but she is unnaturally strong. “Let go of me! Let go of me!”

\---

“Alright, everyone down there," Maia shouts as the enslaved people of Cairo starts getting close to them again. 

She has just opened one of the trap to the sewers and she is pushing Meliorn and his companion, Isabelle she thinks?, down there. 

“What about our brother?” Clary, beautiful Clary with bright hair and a brighter attitude, asks, panicked. 

“We’ll get him back,” Maia swears and she sees Magnus nodding eagerly as he helps Clary down. 

“You go down there,” he says. “I’ll find you back out of the city.” 

“You sure?” 

He nods and she doesn’t question him more. This is a man who knows what he wants, knows what he has to do, and she isn’t about to stop him. 

“I’ll meet you all at the southern gates.” Bane says and then looks at her. “Take care of Clary and Izzy for me, will ya? I promised Alexander I would make sure his sisters were safe.” 

“I swear to you, nothing will befall them.” 

Magnus nods and shoots one of Lilith’s slave in the chest as they get too close. 

“Go!” He shouts and pushes her down.

As soon as she is down, he closes the trap and pushes over one of the fallen carts that had blocked his path. 

Down in the sewers, they are completely encapsulated in darkness, and it isn’t until she lights a torch that she sees the frightened faces of the two women. She can’t blame them; they are alone with two strangers they properly met today, and their brother just disappeared with a mummy. On top of that, their friend may have just sacrificed himself so they would have a chance to survive. 

“What’s going on?” Clary asks, walking closer to her. 

The white woman is scared and shivering a bit, and Maia draws her cape over her arms. She is used to the cold nights of the desert, this isn’t much for her. 

“Magnus is taking another route, but he will meet us at the southern gates. We should hurry and go there as fast as we can.” 

They all nod and Meliorn lights another torch. They have a journey to accomplish underground, and this won’t be too much light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't hesitate to leave a comment, nothing would make me happier :D


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we are back to Hamunaptra, quite sadly for our heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeeew! Hello~ 
> 
> I thought this week was never going to end! Especially my (very busy) weekend that has utterly exhausted me! 
> 
> But the chapter is here, and it's the new usual length (2k) and I quite like it! I hope you'll all enjoy it :) 
> 
> Have a good read!!

The car Magnus ‘borrowed’ is a relief after the craziness of Cairo’s streets. He had to climb and break into a house to get out of there safely, but he managed. Now, he is only thinking of Alexander. The man had sacrificed himself, believing that he was saving his family and friends by doing that. Magnus won’t let Lilith kill him. There is too much at stake, first of all, and also Magnus refuses to lose Alexander. He should be afraid at the depth of his own feelings, but he knows what he feels for the other man, and he is certain that those feelings are reciprocated. Magnus has a lot to fight for, including but not limited to, the sake of the whole world. 

“Magnus!” 

Isabelle and Clary run to the car as soon as they see him and he jumps out, hugging both women. He had been extremely worried for them. He knows the Medjai had sworn to protect them, but still. Magnus would never have forgiven himself if anything had happened to them. They are basically family at this point, and Magnus has made a point to never leave his family in danger. 

“How did you get out of there? There were hundreds of them,” Clary exclaims as she hugs him back before stepping away, and Magnus doesn’t miss the way Maia comes closer to the woman and touches her shoulder lightly. “We thought you…” 

He doesn’t let her finish her sentence, smiling a bit. “No matter how I got out of it. We have to go get your brother and we don’t have two weeks to travel on horseback.” 

“What do you suggest we do then?" Izzy says as she comes to sit in the car next to him, everyone following her lead as Magnus takes back the driver’s seat. “We can’t exactly take the car in the desert.” 

He shakes his head. “No we can't, but I’ve got a better alternative.” 

He starts driving then, not saying anything else. He knows who to go see, and he knows the man will say yes.

“An airbase,” Meliorn questions when Magnus drives through the open gates. “You seem familiar with the place.” 

“I’ve come here once or twice," he says casually. He doesn’t really like discussing his past. “We are going to borrow one of those machines, and fly to rescue Alexander.” 

“Borrow?” Magnus can hear the skepticism in Maia’s voice and he rolls his eyes. 

“Yes, borrow. I have a friend or two left in here, and I’m pretty sure I can manage to get us a plane easily.” 

“Pretty sure.” Maia says in a flat tone but doesn’t say anything. 

He parks the car at the base of a dune and looks up. Sitting, atop from it, is Ragnor Fell. His old sergeant, and the grumpiest man Magnus has ever had the pleasure of meeting. Now comes the tough part, convincing him that letting Magnus borrow a plane with strangers is perfectly fine. 

Magnus squares his shoulders. He can do this. 

\---

Alec coughs up as the sand lifts off. They are back in Hamunaptra already, Lilith having transported them, and Jace as well, through a sandstorm. It might be a very rapid way of traveling, but he really doesn’t like it. He’s pretty sure he has swallowed some sand, and it is sticking to his lungs. A very unpleasant sensation, overall. 

“Did we really get here this fast?” Jace moves closer to Alec. “In a sandstorm?” 

Moving away from the blond man with a disgusted look, he answers the question anyway. No point in being needlessly rude. 

“It certainly looks like we did. But why don’t you ask your mistress, if you want answers so bad?” 

So. Maybe he lied on the rudeness front. But who is going to blame him? He has just been kidnapped, transported through the desert, and his family is most likely dead. Without even thinking of Magnus. Alec really, really hopes his sisters and the adventurer made it out of Cairo; he trusts them to help him out of this mess, because he really has no idea how he’ll get out of here without them. 

There is a low rumble overhead, and Alec frowns, turning away to locate the source of the noise. Lilith and Jace move at the same time as him, but he doesn’t notice them. He is squinting, trying to determine what the black point in the sky is. It’s not a bird, but the shape is strangely familiar… A plane! 

“Bane,” he can’t stop himself from smiling. Magnus really came after him, despite all the dangers. Alec won’t have to suffer whatever terrible fate Lilith has reserved for him. 

There is a groan erupting next to Alec, and he looks at Lilith. She looks absolutely furious, her harsh features highlighting the anger in her eyes as she roars. Following her movements, the dry sand crackles and rise, forming a high wall of sand. It chases after the plane, following its rise in the sky. 

So. Maybe he will have to suffer Lilith’s choice of destiny. Especially with the way the ancient Queen smirks as she reopens her eyes. Alec runs forward, trying to see if he can follow the plane’s movements, but it’s useless. In between the higher dunes, the sand that wafts all over the place, and his own fear, he can’t see much. He really hopes his sisters aren’t in that plane, because if anything happened to them… He would rather die and have his body used to carry a dead Egyptian’s prince soul than have his sisters be harmed in anyway. He knows they can take care of themselves, but he is their big brother. He has been taking care of them for a while now, and it’s not about to stop. 

A face appears in the wall of sand and Alec gasps. Lilith is, somehow, in that big sandstorm, and seeing the plane up close this way. He turns to look back at her just as her jaw unhinges and the sound in the sky becomes even louder. Even from afar, they can all hear the yells of terror as the plane is caught up in the storm. 

“Stop it,” he shouts to Lilith, trying to be as strong as he can, “you’re going to kill them!” 

“That’s the idea,” Jace mutters from behind Alec. The man sounds absolutely terrified, which in some way reassures Alec. At least, even her servants are afraid of the queen. 

Alec shoves him out of the way as she runs to Lilith, the plane still twirling amidst the sand. He doesn’t know how to get her to stop this, how to distract her from the attack on Alec’s family and friends. 

“Mother!” He yells in a hopeless attempt, launching himself at her neck, and he feels her surprise as her hands come up to hold him, “Bring me back mother!” 

Her grip on him gets tighter as she holds him and he manages to turn slightly so he can look at the sky again. The sandstorm is dissolving, and he can see the plane getting away, flying off to safety. He breathes out in relief. Lilith is still holding him but he pushes her away, getting out of the uncomfortable hug. He can’t help the smile that spreads on his face as he watches the plane moving away. 

And then, he notices the way the engine smokes. He has only a second to notice the small fire at the front, and then he knows, with absolute morbid certainty, what is going to happen. The plane is going to crash, and everyone he loves is going to die. And then it will be his turn.

At least, he thinks as he watches his worst nightmare come to life, it won’t take long for him to join them in death. 

\---

Izzy groans as she climbs out of the plane’s carcass. This is debilitating, and somewhat humiliating. Her clothes are covered in sand, and her hair is full of it as well. She shakes it out quickly before turning back to the plane and helping Clary, who is in much the same state as her, out of the wreck. Magnus follows them out, wincing in pain. He had been the one to pilot the plane, so he probably took the most damage. 

“Well, that didn’t go so well, did it?” The man rubs his jaw. “Where are our Medjai companions?” 

“They jumped right before the plane crashed,” Izzy answers, looking back to where they should have landed. “We weren’t far off the ground, so they should be alright. Hopefully.” 

Something twinges with worry inside her at the idea of Meliorn being hurt. She enjoys the man’s company, even if so far they’ve only met under less than splendid circumstances. He is sharp-witted, and doesn’t suffer from the fake modesty or overgrown arrogance she hates most in men. Still, her mind is more full of worry for Alec than Meliorn. Alec is in the grasp of a bloodthirsty undead Queen who wants to kill him while Meliorn simply jumped off a burning plane. Clearly, one of them is in a better position. 

“Here!” Clary exclaims and points to two human shaped lumps raising from the sand a hundred or so meters away. “They are alive!” 

“That’s a relief,” Magnus sighs and grabs the bag he had packed with guns and weapons earlier. “Let’s get going then. We have a fair bit of walk till Hamunaptra, and the fastest we are there, the earliest we can get your brother out.” 

Izzy and Clary nods and starts walking away from the plane wreck with him, meeting up with Meliorn and Maia shortly after. The two Medjai are covered in sand, but they don’t look too damaged. Izzy slides in next to Meliorn as Magnus takes the lead of their group and smiles at him slightly. 

“Glad to see you’re doing alright.” 

“No plane crash could get me away from this world, Isabelle.” He smiles back. “Especially not when you are waiting on me to rescue your helpless brother.” 

She grips his arm and squeezes it slightly. “I’m glad then.” 

\---

Jace follows Lilith quietly, rubbing his hands a bit nervously. The man they took, Alec?, doesn’t talk either as they walk. This isn’t good, not at all. Jace didn’t really think any of this through. The other man is mouthy and brave, and he has friends and family he is willing to die for… And Jace? Jace only has himself. He hates it. He shouldn’t ever had offered his services to Lilith. Death would be preferable to torturing someone to get someone else’s soul into them. 

Lilith turns an eye to them sharply, advancing much faster than they are, before she keeps moving. She’s beautiful now, in a way that chills the blood in his veins. He is terrified, constantly, near her. He wonders what it is like, to be like Magnus Bane, loved and adored by anyone he meets, or even like Alec, who seemed to have a small but tight loving family. 

Rather than admitting his own feelings of jealous inadequacy, Jace pushes Alec forward. He resents the man a bit. Why does he get to have everything, when Jace never had anything? 

“Keep moving,” he says roughly.

Alec stops, turning his head almost regally. It annoys Jace that he respects the other man. Anyone with that much ability to withstand the absolute terror of the moment and still retain an air of calmness is worthy of respect, despite how much he wants to hate him. 

“You know,” Alec starts and Jace frowns. “Nasty little fellows like yourself, they always get their comeuppance.” 

Jace chuckles a bit nervously. It sounds almost like a prophecy, the way he said it. 

“Do they now?” 

“Oh yes.” Again, that certainty and finality in his voice. “Always.” 

He lets Alec move forward, trying not to focus on the chill in his bones. This isn’t how Jace wants to die. He doesn’t want to doom all of humanity forever simply because he had wanted gold. 

“Hey, hey, wait up,” he whispers quickly. Lilith is still walking ahead, and he hopes more than anything that she can’t hear him. “I don’t want you to die.”

Alec rolls his eyes and keeps walking. “Right. Like I’m going to fall for that trap. You helped Lilith capture me, and watched without doing nothing as she killed my family. I don’t think one more death on your conscience is anything you need to worry about.” 

“No, I mean… I’ll help you escape.” He mutters this even lower, his eyes never leaving Lilith’s back. Her silver dress illuminates the entombed Hamunaptra as they walk through it. “I didn’t realize that…” 

“That she was a curse, that she would destroy you after she had what she wanted?” 

“Yes,” he admits a bit lamely. He feels ridiculous, and he hates it. “If I help you out, you’ll get me out too? With Bane?” 

Alec’s face does something weird then, something Jace doesn’t understand. It twists almost painfully, like the very name hurts the man. Why would it? Jace thought they were friends. 

“You are aware that your mistress probably led to his death not an hour ago?”

“Oh come on, a plane crash, killing Magnus Bane?” Jace rolls his eyes. “I wish it was that easy to get rid of him.” 

Alec glares at him and Jace realizes his mistake. “Not that I want to get rid of him,” he says hastily. “I’ve just seen him get out of much more dangerous situation.” 

Like the first time they were in Hamunaptra, and Jace left him to die in the desert after swearing that he would help Magnus at any occasion possible. He doesn’t add that though, he doesn’t think that would land him in the other man’s good grace. Can’t he do anything good for once, without being questioned and mistrusted at every single step?

“If you help me escape, and if Magnus is alive, I’ll see what to do about you. I won’t leave you to Lilith, at least.” 

It’s nothing more than a half answer, and one that Jace wishes he could refuse, but it’s all that he will be given, so he nods eagerly. 

“What are you waiting for, fools?” Lilith turns to them. 

They have reached the main temple, and a large slab is in the middle of it. So this is where she intends the resurrection to happen. Jace exchanges a look with Alec and pushes him forward as Lilith watches them. 

He can’t have her suspect for even a second that he is going to betray her, or she would kill him without a second thought, and this will have been for nothing. This is certainly the most dangerous moment in Jace’s life, and he really hopes he’ll live to see another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it ! Don't hesitate to leave a comment :D


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Within Hamunaptra, things are moving...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ 
> 
> I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter! It's the longest one so far and it's full of adventure, with a tad of blood! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Clary sighs, her arms tired of pulling rocks for over ten minutes. All the entrances to Hamunaptra’s underground city have collapsed on themselves, and they need to clear a path so they can rescue Alec, but this is a lot. Clary, Izzy and Magnus have been pulling rocks for the last fifteen minutes or so, Maia and Meliorn standing guard behind and exploring around to make sure there is no easier way in. 

She rolls her shoulders back, moving her head slightly from side to side. Today has already been filled with adventure, and she hasn’t had much sleep in the last two days. She doesn’t know how everyone is doing so well without sleep at all, but then, she is the one the least experienced in adventures and the likes. Maybe she should be able to go two days without resting at all, if she wants to go on real adventures. 

“Clary,” Maia says gently and puts her hand on her shoulder. “Take some rest. I will take your place, alright?” 

The woman’s eyes are soft and her hands on Clary’s shoulders are firm and strong, and the redhead doesn’t find it in herself to resist as the Medjai leader pulls her away from the rocks. She let herself be sat down against a wall, and she smiles slightly at Maia. She doesn’t have the heart to try and flirt; her brother is missing, and she can’t bear the thought of losing him. It would be too much after their parents. 

“Rest,” Maia says gently and squeezes her hand. “We will take care of the entrance and wake you up when it’s time to go.” 

Clary nods and closes her eyes, drawing her knees against her chest. She knocks some loose rock as she moves her feet but she doesn’t really worry about it. This whole place is full of sand and rock, it’s not like one or two being moved is going to be a problem at this point. 

She has almost reached sleep when a sharp pain in her hand makes her yelp and open her eyes. Something - a scarab? - is burying itself in her skin and she yells again, panicked. 

“What is it?” Magnus’ panic doesn’t help the situation. 

“The thing,” she stammers as she shouts in pain, “it was in my hand and then—“ 

She cuts herself off to shout in pain again, feeling the scarab crawling up her arm, moving skin and muscles. This is so painful, she can feel the tears coming in. 

Izzy grabs her by the shoulders and murmurs a soft “sorry” before she opens up Clary’s shirt, exposing her undergarments and soft skin to the cool air. The thing is still there, slowly climbing up to her throat. 

“Isabelle, hold her,” Maia orders and grabs a knife from her belt before pressing it against Clary’s skin as Izzy holds her tightly from behind. “This might hurt.” 

Maia’s knife buries itself under Clary’s skin, and Clary groans and shouts of pain again. This is almost unbearable now. She can feel the tip of the knife moving to lift the scarab, and then suddenly nothing anymore, just pain and the uncomfortable feeling of an exposed wound. Magnus gets his pistol out as the scarab flies off in the air and lands a meter or two away, and when he shoots it, it’s with deadly precision: the scarab explodes into a thousand little pieces. Clary looks away from her wound, trying to not throw up at the sight of the torn flesh. 

Something burning hot is poured on it and she grimaces. Alcohol is good at cleaning wounds, but it hurts. She allows Izzy to bandage her up, and then Maia helps her get dressed back up correctly. Her arm hurts, but thankfully it’s her left arm, not her right arm. She would be helpless and useless if it had been her right arm; she never learned to shoot with both hands the way Magnus or Maia seems to be able to. 

“How are you feeling,” Maia asks as she finishes rebuttoning her shirt, and the woman seems slightly perturbed, her eyes looking away frequently. 

“I’m better now,” Clary says and smiles a bit. She covers Maia’s hand with her own and looks at the other woman in the eyes, trying to convey all she is feeling with this one look. “Thank you. For reacting so quickly, for helping me… For helping Alec too.” 

Maia shrugs a bit, but the words have clearly had some effect on her, because she looks away with a pleased expression. She squeezes Clary’s hand and looks back at her, eyes warm. “Of course.” 

“The way is clear,” Magnus announces from behind Maia, and they turn to look at the now revealed tunnel. “Let’s get going.” 

\---

Magnus moves confidently through the passage in the rock, the torch in his hand keeping him from bumping into walls. He isn’t afraid of whatever is waiting for them further down in the ruins. Whatever it is, whatever Lilith throws at them, it can’t be more terrible than everything they have already endured. Even if it is, Magnus doesn’t care. Rescuing Alexander is more important than his own safety. Clearly, his sisters agree with him on that point. 

Magnus admires that in them, he thinks as he hops down from a ledge into what feels like a larger room. He isn’t sure it is, his torch has a limited light, but he can see a mirror, placed high up a little while away. It’s one of those mirrors Alexander had shown him the first time they had been here together, the ones that were used to reflect light throughout rooms. 

“Everything alright,” Meliorn asks as he steps down as well, helping Isabelle and then Clary to get down. 

“Yeah,” Magnus mutters and looks at the mirror again. If he focuses enough… He might have a decent shot. 

He gets his pistol out and lifts it with slow concentration. He has to be focused here, he doesn’t want to be wasting shots just for this. Though, if he is right, light will be very helpful in this… 

The shot he fires hit the mirror perfectly, and suddenly light floods the room. Gold and silver shine with the sun’s reflected rays, and piles of treasury are drawing the eyes in every corner of the room. A few weeks back, this would have been Magnus’ dream. An easy treasure found, a sure way to guarantee his name would enter history, but most importantly, wealth to a never ending point. For someone like him, who grew up in poverty, always searching for his next meal, money had always had this shiny appeal that all things one doesn’t possess have. Now though, it barely registers in his mind that this is valuable. He is so focused on his mission… Nothing is as important to him as Alexander anymore. He doesn’t want to think why that is exactly. 

“Holy Mother,” Clary whispers in awe. “This is amazing…” 

Magnus shrugs. “Let’s get going. This will still be here when your brother is back with us.” 

The young woman nods and they all start moving down the stairs, into the large treasure chamber. Golden trinkets shine all around them, and even the sand isn’t enough to cover that. It’s a bit distracting to the eye, making it difficult for all of them to properly focus on the small path to the other side of the room. 

“I can’t believe my eyes," Isabelle whispers much like her sister previously. “The legends were true… All those stories, all those myths… They are true…” 

He hums quietly. He doesn't really want to get talking, there is something deeply /wrong/ about this place. 

As if to confirm his pessimistic thoughts, there is a loud crack behind them, and they all jump. Everyone reaches for their weapons and points it around them nervously. They are all on edge. 

Something appears from the ground behind them. Something human shaped, but definitely not human anymore. _Great_, Magnus wants to yell, _another fucking mummy_. More follow, until there are at least ten of them slowly heading towards them. 

“What the hell are those things?" Magnus, and everyone else with him, points their guns at the mummies. 

“Priests,” Maia answers grimly. "Lilith’s priests. They were condemned with her.” 

Magnus groans. “Great. Let's get on with it.” 

He shoots first, and everyone follows his lead. They start moving backwards at the same time, heading towards the door that will lead them deeper into Hamunaptra, and hopefully closer to Alexander — and Lilith. 

The bullets only have a very temporary affect on the dead priests. They stagger a bit backwards every time they are hit, and some fall to the ground, but without fail, they get back up and start walking again, surefooted in their destination. 

“Time to run!” He pushes the Lightwood-Frays ahead of him, and starts running, still shooting as he gets away.

\---

Alec groans as he wakes up, pain sharp in the back of his skull. How did he fall unconscious? The last thing he remembers is Jace pushing him away, towards one of the exits, and then something sharp hitting him and everything fell blank. Something smells rotten around him, the smell heavy and nauseating. He tries to move away from it, but his shoulders hurt, and he realizes he is bound, his arms tied to something hard. Little claws buries themselves in the flesh of his stomach, getting through the fabric of his shirt and he shudders, opening his eyes slowly. 

A rat is looking at him curiously, smelling him. Alec doesn’t yell, but it’s near, and he wiggles around, trying to remove it from himself. A bad decision, definitely. He finds himself face to face with a decaying mummy, and this time, he does yell. This is where the awful smell is coming from then, he should have known. 

Just like Lilith, this mummy doesn’t look right. It’s slimy and covered in some moss, and there is no doubt in his mind that it was not entombed properly. Someone had purposefully done a bad job of burying this person, and just from that, Alec can guess who it is. Jonathan, Lilith’s son. The one who’s soul Alec is supposed to host in his body, if no one come to intervene. 

He struggles, trying to get away from the slab of marble he is tied to, but there is no chance in that happening.— Every move is useless. He can’t manage to move more than a few centimetres, the shackles around his wrists thick and digging into his skin violently each time. It hurts, but he has to get away, he really, really doesn’t want to die. Not like this, not so soon. 

Moans and groans resound behind him and he stills. What now? 

He arches his back and turns his head, trying to ignore the pain in his wrists. Mummies are assembling into a circle around him, and Alec wants to hit his head against the nearest surface; he is tired of mummies, tired of all their badly presented forms, tired of the smell of rotten that accompanies them. Clearly, most of them did not receive the traditional embalming that was given to high ranking members of the Pharaoh’s court. Or any kind of proper embalming really… They are all rotting, and putrid smell escape them and surrounds Alec. He restrains himself and does not puke, but it is a very near thing. 

He looks around, trying to see if there is anything, anyone that could help him. Jace is nowhere in sight, and Alec wonders briefly if Lilith killed him. The man was just betraying her when she had taken Alec, so it wouldn’t be surprising. Still, it would sadden Alec to some extent. Jace was finally showing signs of being a decent person rather than this awful, greedy little man Alec had seen him as previously. 

Rather than seeing Jace, he finds Lilith, smiling and stroking tenderly her son’s cheek. Alec struggles again, and she shoots him an angry glare. He disturbed her in her contemplation of her son, and he doesn’t think she is happy about that. She must have moved closer just recently though, because she hadn’t been there earlier. He would have remembered the way her nails are still dragging against the deteriorated and crumbling bands that cover the skeleton next to Alec. 

“_Soon,_“ she murmurs to her son, and her voice sounds so different from any other time Alec has heard her speak, “_we will be reunited, my son. You shall rise again over Egypt, and your light will illuminate us all, my Morning Star._“ 

Alec shivers slightly at her tone. It’s tender, yes, but it’s terrible too. More than anything, it doesn’t evoke anything good for him. He knows very well now why all those mummies are around the table, why he is tied up this way. His death is upon him. Lilith will sacrifice him very soon, and Alec closes his eyes. He doesn’t want, doesn’t need, to see anything else. He wants to be back with his sisters, wants to kiss Magnus Bane once more… He wants to live, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get a chance of that.

\---

Magnus is running through Hamunaptra, searching for that damned statue of Horus Alexander spoke of. Maia and Meliorn are helping him and the two Lightwood-Frays as they navigate the city, but their task is made harder by the mummies following them steadily. No matter how many bullets they are shot with, the undead skeletons follow them, and they move faster with every passing minutes. Magnus is going to, very possibly, die in this labyrinth of ruin, but he would rather it not happen because some mummies got their hands on him. 

They stumble into a room and Clary shouts, joyful at the surprise of everyone. 

“Horus! We found it, the statue!" 

Magnus gives the birded man a look and nods, tossing to the redhead and her sister a small shovel he had packed, before turning around. He grabs some dynamite from his bag and Maia lands him her torch. He lights the explosive stick and tosses it in the tunnel, where mummies are following. 

He drags Maia and Meliorn away and behind the statue just as Isabelle exclaims in disgust. The woman has wandered to the other side of the room, to another tunnel, making sure there aren’t more mummies there.

“You!” The woman screams and there is a thud, loud in the quietness that follows the explosion. “I will kill you if you don’t tell me where my brother is!” 

She is holding her gun to a startled, crouched down Jace. The man looks pathetic, but he doesn’t look as subjugated as the last time Magnus had seen him. Clary steps towards her sister but Magnus stops her with a gentle hand. 

“Get the book out, that’s the main goal right now. I’ll deal with him, alright?” 

She hesitates, but nods after a few seconds. She goes back to the statue with Meliorn and Maia, still shooting looks over her shoulder at Magnus as he approaches Jace and Isabelle. 

The woman kicks Jace in the stomach and the man groans in pain. For some reason, Magnus doesn’t think the man has been given the opportunity to talk just yet. 

“Isabelle, let me deal with him, I—“ 

“No!” She protests angrily. "He knows where Alec is! He helped that monster kidnap him! He’ll pay for that!” 

“I’ve been trying to—“ Jace says but retreats when both Magnus and Izzy glares at him. 

“Listen,” Magnus says as calmly as he can. “I understand that you want to save your brother. So do I. But right now, getting the book out is the most important thing. I’ll get the infos out of that one, you take care of the book. I can’t read Ancient Egyptian anyway, so you and Clary will be more useful there. And Alexander wouldn’t want you to do this dirty work on his behalf.” 

Begrudgingly, she agrees and retreats, not without kicking the blond traitor in the knee just as he is getting back up. The man groans again, and Magnus doesn’t feel any pity towards him. Rather… 

“Bane,” Jace pants, but he is interrupted by Magnus’ hitting him and breaking his nose. He lets out a yelp of pain and Magnus allows himself the satisfaction of the way the cartilage had splintered and blood is spilling. 

“Jesus Christ, can you people stop?” Jace presses his hand to his nose, wincing. “I’m trying to help you out!” 

“Help us out?” Magnus says angrily. “You’ve been doing nothing but being a traitor to your own kind ever since we met!” 

“Well, I’m trying out something new here! I promised your man that I would get him out, and he said he would get me out too.”

“Why would you do that? You're on Lilith’s side, aren’t you? So far, you guys are winning.” 

“Maybe I don’t want everyone to die?” Jace shrugs a bit and doesn’t look at Magnus when he says his next sentence. “And maybe I don’t think I should be betraying humanity just for some golden shiny things. And maybe I want what you have instead.” 

“What I have?” Magnus frowns. 

Jace rolls his eyes. “People who love you! People who care about you, and want to stay with you, no matter what.” 

“You certainly won’t get that by betraying everyone at every turn if it means some profit for you,” Magnus mutters. 

“I’m aware of that,” Jace says through gritted teeth, his own blood tainting his teeth red before he wipes it all over again. “Now do you want to know where the mean lady’s brother is or should I keep that information to myself?” 

Magnus groans. He can’t believe he is about to deal with Jace again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment!! They bring me endless joy!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final confrontation begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Good news, this whole story is fully written out. Besides this one, there are two other chapters. As I'm going under surgery on Friday, I wondered if you guys would like to have everything by then (Tuesday and Friday mornings), have two this week (Wednesday/Sunday) or stay with the usual once a week on Sundays? It's your choice, so leave a comment :) 
> 
> Now, some of you have asked about a possible follow up to this fic that would follow the events of The Mummy Returns! As I've said in answers, it's not something I have planned so far, but I am thinking about it! :) And it is something that interests me. However, life at the moment is extremely full of things, and honestly quite stressful! So I'll reserve my decision for the end of March, when things will have calmed down a bit, hopefully.
> 
> If you want to talk more about it, my tumblr inbox (@saltytransmalec) is always open! Let me know if you have ideas, suggestions... I might even take some small (under 2k max) requests if there is something you want :) 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter! And don't forget to let me know what you would like best :)

Clary glares at the blond man who has joined them now. She can’t believe Magnus has agreed to have Jace on their team. The man took her brother! It’s his fault they are even here again in the first place. Well, it’s maybe a bit Lilith’s fault. And Alec’s for waking it up. But mostly Jace. 

“Could you stop glaring at me for a second?” Jace asks as he pulls the stone covering the bottom of Horus’ statue with Meliorn and Magnus. “It’s kinda distracting.” 

“She’ll stop glaring whenever she wants to.” Maia answers back for Clary and makes him turn his head back to the statue. “You might be with us, but that doesn’t mean any of us have to like you.” 

Jace groans and goes back to the stone pulling. 

Clary smiles at Maia and the other woman smiles back softly. The redhead walks closer and jostles her shoulder lightly. 

“Thanks. I mean, I could have done it but… Thanks anyway.” She says this in a soft voice, hoping Izzy won’t overhear. 

She isn’t like her sister, giving away all her affairs publicly. It’s a bit more complicated for Clary after all; she only likes women, and it’s always a delicate matter to approach. She knows she is lucky that her siblings are so loving, and she knows that their own queerness has a lot to do with it. She likes to think that, even if they weren’t, they would still love her. Their parents hadn’t minded it, they had only cared about her safety and making sure she would not get hurt for her love of women. 

“Of course,” Maia answers warmly. Gently, her hand trails over Clary’s injured shoulder. “How are you feeling?” 

“Better. I mean, the pain isn't very present and well.” She shrugs. “I’ll have it looked at properly when we are out of here.” 

“Perhaps I could help then. I am a trained physician amongst my people.” Maia doesn’t look shy asking this, but there is some hesitation in her voice. “I would enjoy getting more time to get to know you, anyhow. You seem like quite the interesting person.”

The compliment pleases Clary to no end and she nods, a bit overeager. “I would like that as well. And I’m sure you are talented. I don’t trust the British doctors of Cairo much, anyway. I prefer going to see the women in the old quarters if I have an issue, or Izzy. They understand women much better.” 

Maia chuckles. “Men in your people, they shy away from the problem women faces. Not my people. We take care of everyone, be they weak or strong, be they man, woman, or neither. We aren’t the uncivilized savages we are depicted as.” 

“I figured as much,” Clary smiles a bit and looks at the beautiful woman next to her. The light of the torch is reflected in the intelligent green eyes, and her curls are framing her face so delicately… Clary would really, really love to know how it feels to be kissed by such a woman. 

“Got it!” Izzy shouts, triumphant. 

She is holding the book in her arms with a bright smile while Magnus, Meliorn and Jace pant, passing around a gourd full of water in between them. 

Behind Izzy, the mummies start rearing their heads again. They had fifteen minutes of peace, that’s it, and now they are back to running. Clary doesn’t think she can sigh enough to express how annoyed she is. She isn’t even afraid anymore, she is just filled with pure rage. She wants to get her brother back, kill the mummy, and go flirt some more with the amazing warrior who seems to think she is worth her time. 

“You go ahead,” Meliorn says and grabs the large rifle Magnus had been carrying. “I’ll be holding them back.” 

“I’m staying with you,” Maia says and Magnus hands her another large gun from his bag. “We have more chances together like this.” 

Clary makes a bit of a strangled noise. Maia could die here. Clary knows it’s the woman’s sacred duty, that protecting humanity from Lilith is what she was raised to do but… She doesn’t want to lose Maia yet. She wants to know so much more about the woman, wants to know what her body feels like, what she sounds like when she is pleased… 

“Don’t worry,” Maia says, suddenly close to Clary and tilting her head slightly so they look eye to eye. “I’ll be back.” 

Without hesitation, Maia kisses Clary. It’s tender, and yet there is a fierceness behind it. Something almost possessive that makes Clary want more, more, more. 

Maia winks and turns away immediately, pushing Clary towards the safe exit. “Go,” she says and starts firing at the mummies with Meliorn. 

Clary runs with her sister, the sound of Maia’s mingled laughter resonating in her ears. She will hear that sound again, she has to. 

\---

The mummies are chanting, Lilith is reading out from the black book of the dead, and something weird is rising through the air. Alec does not like this, not at all, and he would be extremely thankful if something, anything would happen to stop this.

Of course, when he thought that out, he did not at all expect Izzy and Clary to run up the very stairs he had been pushed to walk down earlier, yelling as they wave the golden book of the living. 

“Alec!” Their mingled voices resonate throughout the place, and despite the deep relief that he has that they are alive, he wonders when they became so recklessly stupid. “We’ve got it, the book of the Living, we found it!” 

“I can see that,” he shouts back, and Lilith glares at them. Alec shrugs a bit. He is already about to die, might as well get some reaction out of them. 

“_Get those girls,_“ Lilith orders angrily, Jonathan’s body twisting next to Alec as its soul is slowly coming back to it. “_And bring me back the book!_“ 

“Run!” Alec yells at his sisters, who push one another almost clumsily as they run down the stairs. 

Why the hell are they running to the mummies? Alec knows they are smarter than that. He has seen them do so many things at this point he wouldn’t be surprised if both of them suddenly developed powers and started shooting fire out of their hands for fun. This though, this absolute idiocy they are showing, this is new and surprising and definitely unwanted. 

His sisters are escaping though, unlikely as it is, they are getting away from the mummies, leading them behind large rocks, and away from Lilith. 

The Ancient Queen bends down and kisses her son’s forehead, as if the rotten smell doesn’t affect her. Perhaps it doesn’t. 

“_I’ll come back to you immediately, my Morning Star, and we will rule Egypt._“ She walks away swiftly after that, heading towards Alec’s sisters. 

On the table, Jonathan is starting to turn and move, his body slow and heavy, but sure of its movements. He grabs the dagger Lilith had left at the edge of the temple and slowly sits up, rising above Alec. 

This is, perhaps, less than ideal. Alec had thought he might be safe until Lilith came back, which gave him some time to find an escape plan but now he is just yelling again. 

“Oh will you stop that,” a voice complains next to him and he looks up to see Jace, holding a large antique sword. “It gets annoying after a time.” 

Despite the other man’s complaints, Alec shouts again when the sword is dropped onto his shackles and he manages to have his legs free. 

“Well at least we know you’re alive,” another voice says and Alec smiles brightly towards Magnus. “Quite charmed to see you again as well Alexander.” He swings his own sword to the shackles on Alec’s wrists and draws the man up and against him. “Now, that wasn’t exactly how I had imagined the day to go, but we really oughta get out of there.” 

Alec nods and then looks back to the direction where his sisters headed, followed by Lilith. 

“What are they doing?” He asks as he moves in that direction. “This can’t be safe!” 

“I volunteered Jace for the job,” Magnus says as he claps harshly the blond man on the back, “but your sisters were insistent on being the distraction. They can be rather convincing when they want to.” 

Alec is about to berate Magnus and Jace for letting Izzy and Clary put themselves in so much danger when a roar from behind them occurs and they all turn around. 

Jonathan is standing atop the table, still holding the dagger, and he is slowly regenerating. His body is reforming and Alec starts to feel a bit faint, a bit more tired. 

“Not to panic you in anyway,” he tries to say calmly as he falls to his knees, “but I’m pretty sure that blade scratched me and now the prince is using my blood to become his own self again, rather than just possessing my body.” 

Magnus groans loudly and swears quite explosively before dragging Alec against a stone to keep his back straight. 

“Don’t move,” he orders, and then turns back to Jonathan. “Hey mommy’s boy, you can’t have the rest of him! I’ll fry you before you touch another hair on his head!” 

The Mummy lets out a roar, and things fall out of its mouth. It’s spit and bugs, and there is a disgusted look on Magnus’ face. 

“Damn man. We gotta get you some dental hygiene.”

Alec sighs and looks around. Where the hell is Jace this time? He was right there two minutes ago, and now, there is no sight of the blond man. Has he betrayed them again? Alec really hopes not. He had hoped that maybe the man could get better, could be somewhat of a better man. 

Everything becomes a bit dizzy as Magnus leaves his side, and Alec closes his eyes. He’s so tired suddenly. 

\---

This is definitely not a good place to be at the moment, but Jace doesn’t really care. Well, he does, deeply. Everything in him is screaming to him to get away, to run out of Hamunaptra as fast as possible, and to leave this cursed place behind. He is trying to change though, trying out a new thing where he does good things, every once in a while. So far, it’s not really working well, but he really hopes it turns out better in the long run. 

“Hey!” He shouts at Lilith's back and throws a stone at her. It hits her in the back of the head, and she turns to him. 

He gulps a bit at the anger and pure rage he reads in her face. He’s glad to see the two women escaping though. They’ve still got the book, and now they just need the key. He’s pretty sure he saw it on the table, not too far from Alec, but he forgot to tell that to Magnus. He knew he had to help the two women, to keep Lilith away from them as much as possible. 

“Why don’t you fight someone your own size uh?” He says this proudly, all bravado he can manage going into his tone. “Come on, get me!” 

He is holding the ancient sword he found earlier, and he is suddenly very glad he learnt sword fighting all those years ago. He might be a little bit rusty, but he won’t die right away. Though… He knows what Lilith can do. He saw her, stood by her side in fact, as she killed the Americans, dried them up… She could use her powers on him, and he would be done for. 

“Little traitor,” she hisses and extends a hand, a sword materializing there, pitch black and looking as if it is made of smoke. 

“Yeah, I’ve been called that a bunch of times lately.” 

Her sword comes down onto him and he sidesteps, raising his own to block hers. She is strong, much more than he had anticipated, and his knees buckle under the impact. He doesn’t back down though. He slides his sword away, sidesteps again, thrusts towards her stomach. She blocks easily. She’s bloodthirsty, he knows that, but she is humouring him for some reason. She’s letting him distract her, fight her and attempt to take her down. Even though they both know that no mortal weapon can touch her. 

They exchange blows for a few minutes, until Jace is exhausted and panting. He still tries though, but he is seriously out of shape, and it’s been years since he got this much of a fight session that didn’t end up with him stabbing his way out with a dirty move. 

Lilith laughs as she makes his sword fall down. 

“You’re going to die here, little boy,” she walks closer, grabbing his face harshly. Her nails are digging into his skin, her sword is against his throat. He swallows dryly. He doesn’t want to die this way. “And for what? You suddenly found that you have some good in you? I could have covered you in gold.” 

“As tempting as that offer is, and trust me it really is, I’m really trying my hardest to not be a bastard anymore. And frankly, you freak me out.” 

She grits her teeth and raises her sword again, ready to strike him down, when two voices echoes throughout the room. Clary and Izzy, Jace recognizes their voices now, are reading something in ancient Egyptian. Lilith roars in anger as she throws him to the side, rushing to where their voices are coming from. 

\---

Jace just bought them time, Izzy can’t believe it. She drags Clary and the Book of the Living away, hiding behind a large pillar as they try to force it open. 

“This thing is massive,” Clary groans as she tugs on one side while Izzy does on the other. “We’ll never get it open without the key!” 

“The key,” Izzy mutters, "that we don’t have at the moment. I have no idea where that damned thing is!” 

“Well, Lilith must have used it to open the Book of the Dead, if she woke her son up already!” 

“Right, you wanna go and ask her?” 

Clary rolls her eyes at her. Izzy feels a bit bad for snapping at her sister, but she feels incredibly stressed right now, and she has no idea how to get this book open. The life of her brother may be depending on it, her own life as well, and it’s definitely overwhelming. How is she supposed to keep her calm this way? She wants nothing more than to scream and to break this thrice-damned book open! 

“Hey, Izzy, calm down,” Clary says in a hushed whisper as she lets go of her end of the book. “We can do this, okay? We are Lightwood-Frays. We break noses and we accept consequences? If Jace is back there, that means Alec is out of his binds and with Magnus, let’s go see if he has any idea what we can do, alright?”

Izzy nods. “Yeah, that sounds good.” She doesn’t say she’s sorry, she doesn’t need to. Clary already knows and is helping her back to her feet, grabbing the book and following her. 

“Fuck,” Clary says as they are faced with mummies. “I had forgotten them.” 

Izzy agrees with the sentiment. The mummies are disgusting, as ugly and rotten as Lilith had been when they had first opened her sarcophagus. Maybe a little less gooey, but who is she to judge. She rather like the mummies dry and dusty. It’ll make the stains on her clothing less difficult to manage. 

“Go with the book that way," Izzy points to their left, away from both the mummies and Lilith, but towards something they don’t know. “Get the book open, I’m taking care of those mummies.” 

“I can help,” Clary protests. 

“You’re injured, and if one of those things get to you, they’ll likely make it worse. Go!” 

Izzy pushes her away just as the first mummy gets to them. She kicks it powerfully in the stomach, sending it falling backwards onto other creatures, and grabs the gun she had hung to her waist earlier. When she starts shooting, it’s with precision and panic. Every bullet she uses deters a mummy only for one instant, and she doesn’t have endless reserves. Soon, she’ll run out and she’ll be at the mercy of those disgusting monsters. She is pretty sure they have no mercy at all. 

“Coming through!” Magnus’ voice reaches her as she is punching a mummy away and kicking another one. 

A sword slashes through the half of her assailants and she smiles widely as she sees Magnus, before realizing her brother isn’t with him. 

“Where is Alec?” She shouts as she fights off the mummies with Magnus, both slowly making their way back to the middle of the room. “We thought he was with you!” 

“Fun story, Lilith’s son is feeding off his energy, so we really need to kill the mother-son duo as fast as we can!” 

“What?!” Izzy yells. 

“Duck!” 

She obeys Magnus’ order and his sword swings over her head, slicing a mummy’s head off. They finally get back to the center of the room and Izzy frowns. There is no sign of either Alec, or Jonathan Morning Star for that matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you want to let me know what you would rather have for the posting schedule, either let me know here in the comments or on tumblr (@saltytransmalec)! Don't be shy about comments, I'm always excited to see them <3


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not so easy to defeat a mummy... And her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> I have gone through surgery, and everything went perfectly! Now, I just have to recover :D Since no one seemed to want to finish this fic before next sunday, I kept the posting schedule like usual! So we'll have the last chapter next week, with more sweetness and tenderness between our characters :D 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! It certainly was fun to write :) 
> 
> I am also considering making this a Series! With some one shots, and probably the second movie, although it would need major plot point changes... Would any of you be interested in that? Let me know in the comments!

Alec’s eyes flutter back open as he hears the clang of swords. Jonathan and Magnus are facing off, both of them looking fierce. Jonathan’s skin is undulating strangely and Alec winces. His own body feels sore in the very parts where Jonathan’s is coming back. He shouts when Magnus is forced to step back after Jonathan’s sword falls harshly on him. Where did he get this sword? Does Jonathan already has his mother’s strange powers? Judging by the pitch black color of the sword, Alec is willing to bet that yes, he does. It can’t be a man-made sword. There is no way any smith made this perfectly sharpened sword that shines with the moving light of the torches. 

“Mister Bane,” Alec shouts and Magnus looks towards him, backing just in time when Jonathan’s sword grazes his neck. 

Alec winces and stands back up slowly, picking up an half broken spear buried next to him in the sand. He balances his weight on it, feeling feeble still. 

A whirl of ginger hair catches his attention, and he looks up to see Clary sneaking on some ledge that leads back to the stairs, holding tightly onto the Book of Life. He groans a bit. What is she doing up there all alone? And where is Izzy? He looks back, and Jonathan and Magnus are still fighting, too engrossed into the fight to notice either Alec or Clary. Good. 

He is just arriving to the bottom of the stairs when he sees three mummies coming up behind his sister. 

“Clary!” He shouts this and his sister looks down, at him, and he gestures to her right, where the mummies are coming up. 

“Shit,” he can see her say, and she looks panicked, before looking down under herself, back at him, and then at the book. 

“Don’t you dare,” he wants to shout at her, but she’s already throwing the Golden Book of the Living at him. 

“Alec, catch!” She throws herself down the ledge right after saying that. 

She is climbing down as he catches the book, throwing himself on the ground to stop its fall. 

“I’m going to kill her,” he mutters under his breath as he watches his sister getting on the stairs quickly. He’s glad she’s got the wits to find an escape solution, but he would rather have it not be at the cost of her life, or at the cost of this priceless, legendary book Alec has dreamed of for years. 

A roar from above makes him look up, and he sees Jonathan standing again on the table, this time his sword raised towards Alec. There is no sign of Magnus anymore. 

“_Give me that book,_“ comes the distorted voice of the prince. “_And I’ll spare your life._“ 

“Certainly not,” Alec is offended by the mere idea of it. 

He’s never going to do what this dead prince offered. He is a librarian, for goodness’ sake! He gets back up, drawing on his last strength and on the rush of adrenaline fear is giving him. 

“If you want it so badly, come and get it.” 

Jonathan roars, and Alec swears. This might not have been the best plan. 

\---

Clary has just reached the bottom of the stairs when she hears a roar and sees Alec starting to run towards her, tossing her back the book as the monster behind him gets off the table. 

“Hide!” He shouts quickly, and she throws herself behind a pillar with the book. 

She’s tired of hiding, tired of running around followed by screaming mummies, tired of all this. Where the hell is the damn key, so that they can kill Lilith and go back to their lives? She has a Medjai ruler to kiss senseless, and she will not wait any longer than necessary for that! 

When she looks back to the table room, there is no one anymore in there, but she can see right in front of the table the key. It’s in the sand, but it’s there, and she just has to get to it. There is the sound of clashing swords, from every direction, and she can hear Alec yelling something, though she doesn’t really know what. Every enemy is busy though, this is her chance. 

She runs to the key, grabs it and ends up hidden behind the table, half covered in sand, but the golden book in her hands and the key right next to it. She could cry of joy. This is it, she’s going to be able to save her brother, save everyone, and then… Then she’ll get to live her life. They’ll all get to. 

The heavier noise of swords stops and footsteps resonate near her. Her blood freezes. She doesn’t know what to do, or whether she should do anything. She hasn’t opened the book yet, but she can’t now that there might be enemies around… She looks at the stairs, sees the mummies coming down, trailing towards her. Damn it. They all couldn’t wait just two more minutes. 

She remembers running in the room with Izzy ten minutes ago, full of unwarranted confidence they were going to save Alec. Lilith might have had her dagger above their brothers, but they were together and — 

That’s it! She interrupts her own flow of thoughts to look up briefly. The silver of the dagger shines and she grins. Whatever is coming at her, she can handle it. She puts the key in her pants’ pocket, grabs the Book tightly and gets up, grabbing the dagger and yelling as she gets to the set of footsteps she heard a few seconds ago. 

“Jeez it’s us, calm down!" Izzy yells back and narrowly avoids the dagger. “Where the hell did you come from?” 

Clary sighs of relief and throws the dagger to the side. “I thought you were dead!” 

“I was about to be, with whatever you were going to drive into my heart!” Izzy hugs her sister tightly though, both relieved to see the other after only a few minutes separated. “You’ve still got the Book!” 

“Even better,” Clary says as she puts the book on the table, Magnus and Izzy gathering next to her as she rummages through her pockets. “I’ve got this too!” 

She produces the key with a proud smile and Magnus claps her shoulder. “Good work! But where is your brother?” 

She hesitates a bit and looks back to where he ran, hastily followed by Jonathan. “Well… Long story short, I’m pretty sure the undead prince is currently trying to kill him?” 

Magnus and Izzy both give her a look like she is crazy. “What! It’s true, he— We don’t have the time to debate all this, we’ve got to kill Lilith and her son!” 

“You two do that, I’m going to get Alec,” Magnus says and rounds the table, only to be faced with the mummies. “Change of plans, just kill all the fucking mummies!” 

“Right,” Clary hastily says and puts the key on the Book. 

It opens up slowly as her and Izzy take turns kicking at mummies that are escaping Magnus’ sword. 

“On the table,” Izzy shouts and both young women get on the table with the book. “Now where the hell is that damned incantation!” 

It takes them a few seconds, but they find it. They share a look of relief and kick one last mummy’s head together, their movements synchronized like they’ve never been before. When they start reciting, there is more power in their voices than ever. _This,_ Clary thinks as she reads the hieroglyphs slowly with her sister, _this is what we were destined for_. 

\---

When the Lightwood-Frays start reading the inscription, the mummies still completely. They are transfixed by the words, and Magnus sighs of relief. He is starting to grow tired after two days of action without any sleep. And he isn’t sure he could have survived another ten minutes of fighting. He rests against the table for a second before he sees Lilith erupting from one of the passage, looking furious and heading towards the table, sword in hand. 

Magnus meets her with his sword and stops her just as hollow hooves resonate throughout the room. Everyone turns to look at the stairs as the shadow of a chariot with a Pharaoh-like figure runs down towards them, the horses pulling the chariot as shadowy as they are angered by something. Lilith screams as she sees the figure atop the horse, and Magnus only has time to step away before the figure snatches something from the Queen. A shadow of her own image leaves her, and as the chariot turns around, the figure pulls another shadow from the pathway on Magnus’ left. The former Morning Star of Egypt is standing there, almost fully human now, and as his shadow is pulled, he becomes pale as death. Fear is in his eyes, and in his words when he yells. 

“_Mother_!” 

The shadow figures are gone, Lilith running after them a bit before she turns back, more angry than before. 

“I thought you said this was going to kill her!” Magnus shouts at the sisters on the table as he crosses blades with Lilith again. 

“She’s mortal,” Clary smirks. 

There is a sudden shock coming across Lilith’s face, and the point of a blade pokes through her stomach. Magnus doesn’t wait any longer, he drives his own sword through her heart, and she falls to her knees, blood spoiling her shining silver dress. 

“_No! Mother_!” 

Damn it. Magnus exchanges a look with Jace, who is behind Lilith, and he feels a bit of his old camaraderie with the man back. They’ll never be friends again, Magnus will never trust him fully again, but fighting together is something they’ve already done many times before. When they pull their swords from Lilith’s dying body, it’s in the same movement. They turn to Jonathan, but just as they advance, something pierces the throat of the undead man. 

The mummies around them all collapse and become dust as Alexander pulls his broken spear from the prince’s throat as he falls to the ground, dead for good this time. Hopefully. Blood has splashed over the Englishman’s hands and face, but Magnus smiles of relief anyway. He’s as beautiful as ever, even in the anger that surrounds him. 

“It’s over,” Magnus sighs in relief and lets his sword fall to the ground. “We did it.” 

Alexander’s face breaks into a gorgeous smile, and he walks closer to them. Magnus goes to hug him, but the man’s sisters are faster, and in an instant they are hugging their brother. The three of them are sobbing and holding onto each other tightly. Magnus can hear Alexander berating them and telling them off for their reckless behaviour, but the women are biting back, and they are all laughing and crying at the same time. 

“Crazy, the three of them," Jace mutters next to Magnus. 

Magnus punches him in the shoulder, not holding back his strength. 

Jace yelps in pain and rubs his shoulder. “What the fuck man?! I just saved your ass back there!” 

“Yeah, and we were in this position partly because of you, so I would consider toning down the “I’m a hero” speech, Wayland.” 

Jace rolls his eyes and looks at the sword in his hand, still bloody with black blood. “This was pretty fun though, isn’t it?” 

“Fun? Are you sure you aren't the nutcase?” 

Jace rolls his eyes again, and they both stand in silence as the Lightwood-Frays talk over one another. What an exhausting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know in the comments! And if you want more of it, give me your opinions on whether or not I should make it a series!


	23. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens now that Lilith is defeated?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!!
> 
> This is officially becoming a series, since my university has closed down for a few weeks I'll have some time to work on the second movie and hammer out a plot for the second one! However, the posting will probably not happen until at the very least May! But I will be writing up some one-shots to fill the gap between the two main stories, so subscribe to the stories if you want to see that :D And if there is anything special you want to see, don't hesitate to shoot me a message on tumblr (@saltytransmalec) or to leave a comment here!
> 
> This chapter is the very last one D: I am a bit sad to see A Curse Upon Your Name end, but it is also better this way than to drag it endlessly out for no good reason. And as I said, more content will be created for it! 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it!

Alec walks to Magnus, flanked by his sisters, who aren’t letting go of him just yet. He isn’t complaining though, he isn’t ready to let go of them either at the moment. Still… He smiles at the adventurer, something a bit more private than his earlier grin. 

“Thanks for coming to rescue me," he says, and he sees tenderness entering Magnus’ eyes. “I knew I wasn’t just a contract for you, Mister Bane.” 

Magnus laughs warmly. “I think you can call me Magnus like your sisters do, Alexander. Hopefully, saving you has made us close enough to warrant the use of first names.” 

“Right,” Alec smiles again. The other man is really gorgeous, and seeing him laugh so freely, in a way Alec hadn’t seen since before they arrived in Hamunaptra, it does things to Alec. It warms him to his core, makes him want to corner Magnus and demand a thousand kisses and— 

“Not to ruin the mood here," Jace interrupts, definitely ruining the mood and getting glared at by everyone. “But could we get a move on? Even if the crazy Queen is dead, this place definitely creeps me out, and I want to get away as fast as possible.” 

Everyone, despite their annoyance, nods at him, and Izzy and Clary finally let go of Alec to grab the Book of Life, while Alec grabs Magnus’ arm quickly, so that they can walk together. 

“I meant it, Magnus,” he says, savoring the way the man’s first name feels on his tongue. 

He might have been calling him that to himself every day since they meet, or nearly so, but this might be the first time Alec says it out loud. At least sober. It’s a delight, and Alec wants to say it a thousand more times, until he has found all the ways it can be uttered. And then, he’ll keep saying it, just for the pleasure to see Magnus smiles the way he is now. 

“It was my pleasure, Alexander. You were never just a contract.” Magnus’ hand slowly rests on top of Alec’s. “Not even on the first day I met you.” 

Alec’s bright smile is answer enough, but just to make sure his message has really passed through, he turns up his hand to hold onto Magnus’ rough, callused one. It’s amazing how much just this little touch can make Alec want more, endlessly. 

\---

The treasury room is still as shiny and golden when they arrive back in it, and this time Izzy starts grabbing things, and so do Jace and Clary. They seem to bond over their want to bring as much of the treasure back with them as possible, and Alec shakes his head. 

“You people are animals,” he says a bit fondly. 

When he turns his head, he finds Magnus putting on gold and silver rings on his fingers. They make him look all the more dazzling, and Alec feels a rush of blood to his cheeks. 

“What do you think?” The adventurer comes closer, showing the rings. “Are they too much?” 

Alec shakes his head, perhaps a bit too eagerly. “No! They are … They are perfect. Just like you are.” 

Magnus grins and winks at him. "Don’t start with the compliments, Alexander. I’m sure there is a lot of other jewelry for me to find.” 

Now, that’s a very interesting prospect. Magnus deserves to be covered in all the treasure in the world, Alec is convinced of that. He’s, after all, the most beautiful man Alec has ever seen. He’s pretty sure Magnus is the most beautiful man in the world, if he is honest. There is no one who could equal the man’s beauty. Especially as he tries on a long necklace that hangs down his chest. Alec would pay a fortune to see what it would look like without the man’s shirt in the way. Just glistening jewelry, sticking to Magnus’ muscles, shining brightly in the sun… 

“Hey Alec!” Izzy’s voice shakes him out of his reverie. “Aren’t those scrolls kind of a big deal?” 

She’s holding an open chest with about ten scrolls in it, and he forgets nearly all thoughts of Magnus as he rushes to her, looking at the scrolls. 

“Marvellous,” he whispers as he looks through them. Lost texts, texts they only have partial translations of… Everything is in there. “Hamunaptra must have been used as a way to store things until early into the Roman Empire era…” 

“Well, everyone has found their treasure,” Clary clasps her hand, a full bag hanging from her shoulder. “How about we get out of there now?” 

Alec nods at his wounded sister. She swore she was alright earlier, but he can see the paleness of her skin and the tiredness in her eyes. To be honest, they are all exhausted. Clary’s right, they should get out of here now. There will always be a time to come back and look through the ruins, now that they know there is no more curse over the ancient city. 

The ground rumbles and everything shakes. What now?

\---

Everything was just starting to go too well, Magnus thinks as they are all running for their lives. The walls _had_ to close up on them at the moment. They couldn’t just bask in the treasure, which was, quite frankly, a well-earned respite that they really deserved after what they did. Well, mostly. 

“Go left!” Clary shouts and pushes him in that direction. 

Of course, they all took their parts of the treasure with them. Alexander is carrying his chest of scrolls like it is the world’s most precious chest. To the man, it is. Magnus finds that truly endearing, and he wonders when he went so soft. Probably as soon as he laid eyes on the delight that is Alexander Lightwood-Fray. The man had captured his attention from the minute he had entered Cairo’s prison. 

“Oh my god, keep running," Isabelle yells and kicks him so that he’ll keep moving. 

Right, no more getting lost in thoughts. They head down an hallway as sand falls in it and walls start to collapse around them. 

“Fuck,” Jace swears loudly. "We're lost!” 

Everyone panics then, but a loud sound stops them all. Is Lilith back, somehow? Is there another curse, triggered by something they don’t know? Magnus takes his last bullet-filled gun and raises it. He is the only person with a weapon still. 

“By Allah,” Meliorn sighs as he steps into the light with Maia by his side. “You people really need to learn how to navigate these corridors.” 

“Right,” Izzy says as she walks up to him and smirks, ignoring the way her shoes are filling up with sand and the walls are trembling. “Why don’t you lead us out of here then, handsome?” 

“It would be my pleasure," Meliorn bows slightly and his answering smirk is enough for Magnus to know that, once they make camp, those two will be escaping for some private time. 

“Enough of your charms, Meliorn," Maia says sharply. “We have to get out of here.” 

Despite her saying this, she extends her hand to Clary with a soft smile, and the redhead takes it happily. The two share a smile and Magnus is happy for them. Alexander looks a bit confused, so Magnus swears to fill him in on the situation afterwards. 

“Not that this isn’t lovely," Magnus coughs slightly as Jace is starting to look more and more panicked, “but maybe we could get out of here first?” 

“Right,” Maia says and, still holding onto Clary’s hand, starts walking. “Let’s go then.”

\---

The sun is setting when they finally get free of Hamunaptra, and they only have the time to run away before it collapses on itself. Clary looks back at where the ancient city was and sighs heavily, a sentiment shared by her siblings, who all have a melancholic look about their faces. 

“Oh don’t tell me you are sad about this misery of a place?” Jace asks disgusted. “You guys can’t be serious!” 

“Shut up,” Alec answers him and hits him on the back of the head. “Some of us have respect for what used to be a great city, and for what has a great treasure of knowledge—“ 

“Or just treasure,” Izzy shrugs, and Alec glares at her before continuing. 

“A great treasure of knowledge passed on from an ancient civilization.” He finishes and Clary smiles a bit. 

He hasn’t been too changed by the events of the last two days then. She’s glad for it. She doesn’t know what she would have done if he had been completely different. She likes her brother the way he is: too stubborn for his own good, passionate, and always willing to listen to his sisters.

“Well if that’s all,” Jace says with a shrug, “I’ll be leaving.” 

Clary doesn’t say anything as he does. Sure, the man helped them when they needed it, but he also nearly had them all killed. If he didn’t have one moment where his conscience managed to get through him, they would all be dead by his fault. She isn’t heartbroken by his departure, especially when Maia is holding her. They still need to speak about what’s going on between them, but it is very recent. For now, Clary would be very happy with more kisses, and maybe one or two times under the sheets, if that’s what Maia also wants. Lilith has been defeated, humanity saved, there is no more need to worry anymore. 

“Take care Wayland,” Magnus says with a nod, and there is a faint smile on Jace’s face as he gets onto one of the camels still around Hamunaptra. 

“You too Bane. Take care of your people.” Jace nods to them all, and kicks the flanks of his camel lightly. 

They all look towards one another as Jace disappears from sight. They aren’t quite ready to say goodbye yet. 

\---

Alec sits around the campfire that evening, drinking out of one of the water flasks Maia handed him before she went back to kissing his sister and not caring much about his existence. Izzy and Meliorn have disappeared somewhere, and frankly he doesn’t want to think much about them. That leaves only Magnus, who is finishing putting away everything. They’ve decided that, for now, they would all go back to Cairo together, to the Lightwood-Frays’ home. Then, Meliorn and Izzy would go explore the East, and Maia and Clary would go back to the Medjai. Clary wants to train to fight properly, Izzy wants to go back to learning as much as possible about the world, and Alec… Well Alec just wants a long, well-deserved break. And to be in the arms of the man he has fallen in love with. 

“You’re thinking quite a lot," Magnus says as he sits down next to him, and immediately Alec puts his head on his shoulder. “Want to talk about what you’re thinking of?” 

Alec shrugs. “I’m going to miss my sisters, but I know they’ll be safe with Maia and Meliorn. And frankly… I’m pretty excited about having some time with you. Aren’t you?” 

“Oh Alexander,” Magnus chuckles and takes his hand, kissing it softly. “I’m more than excited to learn everything there is to learn about you. I’ve been thinking about you, about being with you, ever since you stopped my hanging. Which, by the way, I still have no idea how you really came about doing.” 

Alec coughs a bit, blushing. "I promised the warden some of Hamunaptra’s fortune.” 

Magnus barks out a laugh. "Of course you did! I should have known, this man was greedier than anyone I’ve ever met, and I used to work with Jace, so that’s saying.” 

“Right,” Alec says, a bit distracted by his partner’s laughter. “Of course.” 

“Is there something you want Alexander?” Magnus’ voice is amused as he turns to face him completely. “You can ask me anything, you know that.” 

“Then… All those weeks ago, at the prison, you kissed me. And then, when we were drunk we almost… We almost kissed again.” Alec straightens up. He just killed an undead prince who wanted to use him to reconstruct his body, he can bloody ask to kiss the man he loves! “I would like it if we could share a kiss, when neither of us is drunk or about to die.” 

“That can be arranged,” Magnus smiles tenderly. 

When he leans in, Alec does too. This time, the kiss is tender and sweet. And this time, it is followed by many others, until they are both breathless, until they’ve forgotten why they have not been doing this ever since they met. All thoughts of Lilith, Jonathan, or Hamunaptra have been banished from their heads, as they keep kissing tenderly. This is the beginning of a new adventure for them, and they are more than excited to see where it will take them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this final chapter! It was a pleasure posting every week for all of you lovely readers, and I hope to see you again as I post the next instalments of this story :)

**Author's Note:**

> Since the first chapter is so short and doesn't have any of the characters we'll really follow throughout the story, another chapter will be posted during the week, before we settle on a chapter per week! 
> 
> Leave a comment or kudos, or come talk to me on @saltytransmalec on tumblr! I would love some asks about this story (or anything else) !!


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